Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
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Seranita
erwtenpeller
Celeste/Ainathiela
Dr. Haluthious Vouten
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Thelos
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Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:43 pm
Due to the wall-of-text nature of this registry post, I have decided to kindly provide a neat TL;DR version at the head of the first post.
Naaru, not necessarily draenei guild.
Zealous, puritan, conservative.
Recruits all races and classes except warlocks; shamans, death knights and druids can only join as the lowest rank.
The three most important text, in order, are:
'Naaruvada Dogma'
'The Sacred Wheel of Deed and Thought & The Five Great Hindrances'
'Three Thrice-Tiered Tenants of Faith'
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The soul who dwells in loving-kindness,
who trusts in the Naaru's Teaching,
will attain that state of peace:
the blissful fading away of conditioned things.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
OOC introduction
Naaru, not necessarily draenei guild.
Zealous, puritan, conservative.
Recruits all races and classes except warlocks; shamans, death knights and druids can only join as the lowest rank.
The three most important text, in order, are:
'Naaruvada Dogma'
'The Sacred Wheel of Deed and Thought & The Five Great Hindrances'
'Three Thrice-Tiered Tenants of Faith'
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The soul who dwells in loving-kindness,
who trusts in the Naaru's Teaching,
will attain that state of peace:
the blissful fading away of conditioned things.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
OOC introduction
- What is the Naaruvada?:
The Naaruvada is an order of priests, paladins and other faithful worshipers that are dedicated to upholding the sacred Tenants of the Naaru's teachings. Though the Naaruvada also accepts Lay Members in their ranks, the core Order consists out of the Anchorite caste, whose responsibilities include education, performing the sacraments rites and healing; and the Vindicator caste, whose responsibilities include the protection of the innocent, the righting of wrongs and the smiting of the wicked.
What we are not is a draenei guild. While it is natural for the Naaruvada to primarily attract draenei characters – since the draenei are naturally attuned to the Naaru – all races who are willing to learn about the Light and live according to the Naaru's teachings are welcome to join.
This means that we are not a community guild with the aim of representing draenei society. We are a religious order based on the IC writings of Thelos and other spiritual sages; in a sense, we base our role-play on player-made Light lore, though said lore is very careful to not-contradict anything that we know about the Naaru and the Light.
This also means that we represent no one but ourselves. We do not pretend to speak for the draenei people or represent the Exodar in any official way or fashion. We are the Naaruvada: a conservative cult of the Light as revealed to the Prophet Velen by the Hallowed Naaru. We don't claim to represent either.
In short: this guild is not for everyone. The code which the Naaruvadeans live by and the dogma they uphold is very strict. They are not allowed any personal possessions; they are not allowed any luxury goods, including food considered excess and clothes considered fanciful; upon entry in the Order, they shave their heads and are expected to keep them shaved; they are not allowed to engage in any sensual or sexual relations and take a vow of chastity. The Naaruvadeans are hyper-conservative puritans who have little tolerance for what they consider to be impiety amongst their ranks. There are, however, no repercussions to breaking from the Order, besides the eternal ire of your former peers and the supposed eternal wrath of the Light.
To shoot the elephant in the room directly: the Naaruvada aims to be more Chapter of Holy Anethion than Ere Argus; or, ultimately, a mixture of the two.
What can you expect from us? The Naaruvada provides a solid spine to role-play your religious character with. Characters are provided with solid teachings and codes to live by. Naaruvadeans will often take to the streets to actively spread their religion and fight against what they deem to be corruption: they are uncompromising in their pursuit of justice and are extremely evangelical. Think of Jehova's Witnesses: the Naaruvadean considers it is sacred duty to convert others to his religion to guarantee the salvation of their souls. Unlike, say, the Chapter, the list of potential converts does not exclude any race, since the Naaruvada believes that all natural-born creatures are predisposed to worship the Light.
This fundamentalism will no doubt make the Naaruvadean an enemy of many and an ally to few. As a Naaruvadean, you must be willing to endure a torrent of abuse and hold steadfast to your belief against all challenges and odds. Do you what it takes to keep the Faith in front of overwhelming darkness?
I will use the rest of this thread to expand upon the Naaruvada doctrine and the Tenants of Faith. This will include moral codes, uniforms, ranks and anything else you might wish to know about what it means to role-play a Naaruvadean. Let's dive into it.
- Ranks:
Unranked - A character that is, for some reason or the other, a member of the guild OOC but has no relation to the guild IC-ly. Call this the 'OOC rank'.
Lay Member - A Lay Member of the Order are the people that support the Order without entering into it. Lay Members abide by the Naaruvada dogma and are frequent participants of its sermons and expeditions, but do not take the vows that bind them to the Order's strict monastic way of life. The Lay Members form the backbone of the Naaruvada; for without backing of the community, a monastic order cannot hope to exist for long. This diverse group can contain anything from craftsmen, to shamans and engineers – as long as they abide the Naaruvada's dogma and do nothing to upset the order. This rank is there for players who wish to partake in the Naaruvada's community, but do not want to bind their characters to the restricting oaths of the higher ranks. Laymembers are not allowed to wear tabards and are not certified to represent the Naaruvada in any official fashion. Think of them as the good church-going masses that support the Order trough financial means in times of peace – and as conscripts fighting under Its banner in times of war.
Neophyte- A Neophyte is is a new member of the Order that has just recently taken his vows and is preparing to advance onto the path of either the Anchorite or the Vindicator. Past this rank, the path splits in two. Neophytes will be given a general education that applies to Vindicators and Anchorites both.
Squire / Acolyte – A squire is one who is learning under one or more Vindicator(s). An acolyte is a student of one or more anchorite(s). Squires and Acolytes will be given some, but not all duties and responsibilities of a Vindicator and an Anchorite respectively.
Vindicator / Anchorite – A fully fledged member of the order with all the responsibilities and duties that come along with it.
Harbringer / Grand Anchorite - The highest ranked Vindicator and Anchorite in the order, who answers only to the current leader of the order.
Exarch / High Priest The leader of the Order. If the leader happens to be from the Vindicator caste, he or she will be called an Exarch; if from the Anchorite caste, he or she will be called a High Priest.
Exarch / High Priest – The leader of the Order. If the leader is of the Vindicator caste, he will be referred to as an Exarch; if the leader is of the Anchorite caste, he will be referred to as the High Priest.
- The Naaruvada's opinion on other races and classes:
As you can imagine, the Naaruvada has quite some strong opinions on particular races, classes and their respective practices. On principle, all races and classes are welcome to join the Naaruvada as lay members, except for Warlocks, who are shunned by default. Death Knights, Shamans and Druids are forbidden from taking their monastic vows and entering into the order proper; effectively, this means the higher ranks are reserved only for Warriors, Paladins, Hunters, Rogues, Mages, Monks and Priests. Exceptions to this rule will of course be made within reason and entirely In Character. Death-priests of Yogg'saron, for example, aren't very welcome to preach their wicked ideals within our ranks!
Below is a more detailed exposition on how the Naaruvada related to the many different classes and races of the World of Warcraft.
Classes
Warlocks are traitors to all that is right and just and must be stopped, either by force or conversion.
Shamans are generally mistrusted by the Naaruvada. They appear to worship false gods (the only divinity worthy of worship is the Holy Light: see Dogma) and represent a progressive movement within draenei society that the more conservative Naaruvadean draenei are very suspicious of.
Druids, much like shamans, are generally mistrusted, for they appear to worship false gods as well. However, the force they represent (nature) is generally a force of good that the Light loves, so druids are mostly treated with respect and kindness, as long as they do not spread their false beliefs amongst the faithful and keep their idolatry to themselves.
Death Knights should ultimately not exist. Though some have suffered tragic fates indeed, their existance is a mockery of the Light and should not be allowed to persist. Ebon Knights should be allowed the chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the Light – but if they fail to do so or show now indication of trying, they must be eliminated. Treat with caution; extend the benefit of the doubt.
Warriors/Rogues/Hunters are fighters who rely more on their physical strength and wiles than on divine guidance or magic. These people can be either good or evil, depending on their piety or lack thereof.
Monks have brought new spiritual insights into the world of Azeroth that closely mirrors some aspects of the Naaruvada. The disciplined and spiritual life of the monk inpires the Naauvada. Monks are treated with respect.
Mages – much like warriors, rogues and hunters – can be good or evil, depending on their piety; mages, however, are approached with extra caution, for their power can cause terrible destruction and call forth the attention of the Legion when misused. However, magic can also be used for great good as well, as the Naaru themselves demonstrate with their Dimensional Fortresses. The spiritual education of mages is of the utmost importance, lest their gifts are turned to evil and abused by the demon tempters of the Legion.
Priests/paladins are paragons of the Light in their respective areas of expertise. Priests and paladins are seen as pillars of the community and are held in high esteem.
Races
Draenei, as first of the Light's chosen, are held to a higher standard of piety than most race, for better and for worse. Pious draenei are treated with reverence; but impious draenei who turn their backs to the Light are spat on and shunned.
Human & Dwarves are capable of both great evil and great good. Their education is of the utmost importance. They have begun their lives in the Light, but are still young to Its proper ways. They are in need of real guidance; something their Churches might not be able to offer.
Worgen are cursed humans who are to be treated with caution. Much like their human kin, they have the potential for good; but their curse makes them more susceptible to evil than their fur-less counterparts.
Night Elves are a honorable and noble people but ultimately worship false gods and idols. However, the virtues their sisterhood preaches are much aligned with the Light, which has caused some scholars to believe that the Night Elves may at some point in their development have been visited by the Naaru.
Gnomes are predisposed to do good, but are highly irreligious; yet also susceptible to rational argumentation. Therefore, it stands to reason that they will ultimately allow themselves to be converted peacefully.
The Pandaren are a people of great wisdom and spiritual insights... With debauchery and excess to match. A most enigmatic race, but not without their merits.
Orcs have time and again shown themselves as being beyond redemption. There can be no more compromises with the Orcs: they have demon blood coursing trough their veins and must be slain.
Trolls are the willing cohorts of the Orcs. A wicked race prone to evil. Eradicate along with the Orcs.
The Forsaken are Light-less monsters who must be vanquished on sight.
Goblins are a hedonistic race of ridiculous excess and are not to be trusted easily. Their exploitation of nature has reached them the rightful ire of many righteous people. Convert; if proven impossible, combat.
The Tauren are a honorable people predisposed to good who have already taken their first steps on the path of Light. However, they have somehow tragically been tempted to march alongside demons and monsters. The tauren people must be liberated and enlightened.
The Blood Elves have sinned horribly, but seem to be on the path to redemption trough the martyrdom of M'uru. Much like the tauren, they are to be emancipated from their demonic cohorts and enlightened properly.
- Recruitment:
Has reading all of this (or, let's face it, parts of it) inspired zeal within your soul and has it made you want to try out Naaruvada role-play? Great! The recruitment is simple. Contact us in-game, trough these forums or trough our own forums [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and ask to make an appointment. Once you've spoken to a senior of either the Anchorite or the Vindicator caste, you may be invited as a Lay Member, after which you can work your way up trough the ranks trough role-play!
Last edited by Thelos on Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:34 pm; edited 11 times in total
Thelos- Posts : 3392
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Location : The Netherlands
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:44 pm
- Three Thrice-Tiered Tenants of Faith:
- Thee Three Thrice-Tiered Tenants of Faith: Practical Guidelines to live a Pure and Unhindered Life in harmony with the Light's Will, Laws and Love.
These three simples Tenants of Faith are guidelines for the Disciples of the Naaruvada and any child of Light to live a live in accordance to the Naaru's law and the Inner Light. These Three Tenants are, in no particular order of importance: Piety, Asceticism and Charity. The Lay member of the Order is expected to uphold the bare minimum of the Tenants, or the First Tier; the Inducted who have taken their vows uphold the second tier; and the Beacons of Light that are the Anchorites and Vindicators are inducted in the hallowed mysterious of the third tier.
First Tier: Lay Members.
Piety
Is the upholding of one's duties, religious or otherwise. It is important to remember that, while the Divine Law is unquestionably the highest authority to which the Faithful answers to, a virtuous Champion of the Light must also abide to the temporal laws of mortal men. Whenever these two laws – the Divine and the Mortal – come into irresolvable conflict, one must do what is unquestionably right – what the Divine prescribes – while accepting the consequences of violating the mortal law.
The religious duties of the Lay Member are as follows:
The Lay Member must Confess to a sanctified Anchorites his committed sins once per week.
When on Hallowed Ground, the Lay Member must act with reverence; he or she must keep his or her voice down (unless otherwise instructed by a certified anchorite) and treat his or her fellow worshipers with respect.
The Lay Member must Meditate twice a day; twenty minutes at dawn and twenty minutes at dusk.
The Lay Member must attend Mass regularly.
Address your peers within the Order with 'brother/sister'. Greet your superiors in the order with 'father/mother/elder'. Greet those below you in the Order with 'son/daughter/child'.
Greet any one – both (lay) members and the uninitiated – with the greeting 'Light's Grace' or 'Lightsgrace'.
Say goodbye to any one – both (lay) member sand the uninitiated – with the farewell 'Light bless you', 'Light bless' or 'Lightbless'. When saying goodbye to a larger group, say: 'Unity under the Light'.
The Lay Member must be committed to non-violence and must avoid the use of force whenever possible. Violence should only used as a last resort to defend oneself, or whenever it is approved by an elder of the Order.
Such as the religious duties of the Lay Member and the rules of life the pious abide by.
Asceticism
Is the abstinence from worldly temptations that obscure one's clear communion with the Inner Light. The Lay Men will abstain from certain pleasures of the flesh deemed dangerous by the Naaruvada, as listed below.
The Lay Member is forbidden to drink any alcohol.
The Lay Member is forbidden from engaging in sensual relationships that betray the holy sacrament of matrimony.
The Lay Member should not wallow in excess; he or she should shun garments that are of an extravagant and vane nature and he or she should not gorge himself on luxurious or abundant quantities of food.
From these and other matters – as specified by the local Anchorites – the Lay Member will abstain from, if he wishes to lead a sober ascetic life of harmony with the Light.
Charity
Is the selfless dedication to better the lives of others at the expense of one's own material well-being. Considering it is the selfless acts that are the most Light-loved and are what initially sends the Sacred Wheel of Deed and Thought spinning, the principles of Charity are a crucial Tenant of the Light-loved life.
The Lay Member must donate a sizable portion of his capital to the Order and other charitable causes, such as orphanages and institutions that provide for the poor.
The Lay Member must volunteer to work on charitable causes whenever his Lay work allows him respite.
Such are the demands charity make upon the Lay Member.
The Second Tier: The Inducted
As well as abiding the second tier of the three Tenants, the Inducted will, after either becoming a Squire or an Acolyte, be asked to uphold the first tier of Tenants of their particular caste. Below are the principles all Inducted are expected to uphold; below are the principles particular to their chosen caste.
Piety
The Inducted must recite the proper prayers and mantra's at the proper time and occasions and must lead the Lay Members in doing so. End every prayer and mantra by the phrase: “By the Naaru, may it be so.” See the Hymnal for a collection of mantra's, hymns and prayers.
The Inducted will – after a period of orientation and assessment of his particular skills and talents – be asked to apprenticeship under one or more Vindicators or Anchorites of the Order to pursue either path. These paths each come with their particular set of duties the Inducted as expected to uphold.
The Inducted will unquestionably obey his Anchorites and Vindicators on spiritual and martial matters respectively. He or she must never fail to honor his vows and repent in the appropiate way prescribed by the Anchorites if he should fail to uphold his religious duties.
Such as the religious duties of the Inducted and the rules of life the pious abide by.
Asceticism
The Inducted, upon entering the Order and taking their vows, will denounce all their former titles, family relations and property and are not allowed any personal possessions. All of their needs will be provided for by the Order.
The Inducted is not allowed not allowed to continue his Lay occupation. The Inducted will be asked to work for the Order in a way and fashion suitable to his abilities.
The Inducted are not allow any sensual relationships and take a strict vow of celibacy.
The Inducted will eat once a day a simple meal of brown bread and water. They can drink as much water as they need. Any foods and drinks more extravagant are banned.
The Inducted will dress in humble attire provided by the Order. Exceptions to this rule are made for Vindicators that need to wear special combat attire in the line of duty.
From these and other matters – as specified by the local Anchorites – the Inducted will abstain from, if he wishes to lead a sober ascetic life of harmony with the Light.
Charity
Having denounced their personal possessions, the Inducted are no longer expected to donate portions of their capital to charitable causes; they are, however, expected to spend more time volunteering, having forsworn their previous Lay occupations.
Such are the demands Charity makes on the Inducted.
The Third Tier: The Hammer & the Book
The Third Tier of duty and responsibility is reserved only to those who have proven themselves worthy of the innermost secrets of the Light, who are deeply buried in each and every living soul, available to all who attain enlightenment. Depending on what caste the Enlightened has dedicated his life to, he will either be blessed & burdened with the duties of the Hammer or the duties of the Book; for the Vindicator and Anchorite castes respectively; from the newest Squire and Acolyte to the Exarch and the High Priest of the order, all caste-members are burdened by these responsibilities, to a lesser or greater degree depending on their rank.
The Hammer – the duties of the Vindicator are twofold: defending the innocent and smiting the wicked. The innocent need not only defending against the overt forces of Darkness, but also against injustices committed against them by their peers. Vindicators are upholders of the law and are responsible for the enforcing it trough force and trial. The Vindicators police the Order and ensure the Faithful take their vows seriously. Vindicators are both judge, jury and, when needed, executioners of the Order.
Besides their policing duties, Vindicators are also responsible for leading the Order into war. Whenever the Faithful find themselves on the battlefield, the word of the Vindicator is law. War is the sovereign domain of the Vindicator.
Such are the solemn duties of the Vindicator.
The Book – the duties of the Anchorite lie in the education of the populace, performing the rites the community requires and upholding the Light's sacraments. Upon graduating to full-fledged Anchorites, the Acolytes are inducted in the most holiest of arts: the art of skill-in-means, or soran-zenkil, which is passed down orally.
An Anchorite must tend to his flock with the powers the Light invests in him. He or she must heal the wounded and purify the corrupted with all the rituals and sacraments made available to him. For more information on these rites and more, see Rituals and Sacraments.
Such are the sanctimonious responsibilities of the Anchorite.
Last edited by Thelos on Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:44 pm
- The Sacred Wheel of Deed and Thought & The Five Great Hindrances:
- The Sacred Deed of Wheel of Deed & Thought is a simple principle. It means that, whenever one does good, it will become easier to hear the Inner Light's guiding voice; and when it becomes easier to hear the Voice, it will become easier to heed it and do good. In other words, good deeds will make you have good thoughts; good thoughts will make you do good deeds.
Below are the Five Great Hindrances; they are mental obstructions that hinder our communion with the Inner Light. Purify yourself of these hindrances and you will find yourself having pure thoughts, which, in turn, will lead to good deeds; which, in turn, will lead to purer thoughts still.
The Five Great Hindrances: How to Recognize Hindrances to your Communion with the Inner Light and how to purge them from your Soul.
The Naaruvada scripture recognizes Five Great Hindrances to your communion with the Inner Light that must be purified. These Hindrances are – in no particular order of importance – as follows: Desire, Anger, Restlessness, Apathy and Doubt.
Desire – seen in isolation are natural and healthy. Every sound soul must inhabit a sound body, and our bodily desires, when pure and uncorrupted, will sustain a sound body. The natural pangs of hunger and thirst tell us when we need to feed and drink.
Desire, however, does not stop where the natural needs of the body do. Desire, went left untamed, reaches far beyond the natural lusts. Desires overreaches; and every time desire is entertained beyond the mere satisfying of bodily needs that require satisfaction in order for mind and body to function, desire itself will swell; the more the inflated desires are satisfied, the more they will swell, leading one to consume even more still, until the entire soul will find itself solely dedicated to consumption; a thing of void and shadow.
Asceticism is the answer against desire. Since our desires overreach, we must never humor it with satisfaction; we must remain humble and consume only that which our bodies require for sustenance and limit our sensual interaction to the bed of the wedded.
Anger or other wicked intentions directed at one's fellows are amongst the darkest of taints to threaten one's connection to the Light. Instances of Anger in the broadest sense are all feelings and thoughts based on harming our fellows in any shape or form trough any imaginable means. To inflict harm on others trough cruelty or violence rooted in anger is always an affront to the Light and a violation of its Divine Will and must be avoided at all costs.
Though anger will almost always be instigated by a flight of the passions, it is one that always follows from a state and judgment of the mind. It is when said judgments are made in ignorance and insufficient empathy to our fellows that we are lead to feelings of anger. The Enlightened cannot become angry with the Light; for he knows It to be good and altruistic. Likewise, the Enlightened cannot become angry at his fellows, for he knows them to participate in the cosmic Light; trough it, they are part of it, and trough that part of himself. To inflict harm upon others is to inflict harm upon the Light, and trough that to the self. Therefore anger directed towards fellows cannot be anything but irrational.
One who is lead by his poisonous thoughts and ill passions to feel anger must never act upon this feeling. Trough a greater understanding of the circumstances that has lead one to feel such feelings it will be possible to remove them entirely; for anger is always irrational, and one who is wholly Enlightened will not feel it. If one is unable to achieve sufficient understanding of the circumstances and his fellows, one must place its faith in the Light and pray for guidance; if not by reason, then it must be by Faith that our feelings of anger must be overcome. The Light loves all of its children equally, and all naturalborn are Its children. Though Its children may squabble amongst themselves, by realizing that they spring from the same loving source they may overcome their malintent. Even if the source of the anger does not come to realize this and continues his relentless assault on our patience and compassion, we must stay vigilant and remember this natural fact obvious to all.
Though violence ought to be avoided as much as possible, there are times that the forces of Darkness leave us with little other options. Some souls of which the Light has all but withdrawn completely will not be able to heed Its voice. With these souls it is nigh impossible to reach a mutual understanding of sorts. When these dark souls endanger their fellow children, they must be prevented from doing so; though not out of retribution or anger, but out of compassion. Violent and harmful actions based on violent and harmful thoughts will inspire more thoughts and deeds of the kind and will lead a soul further along the path of Darkness. To prevent these Souls from falling further we must impair their capacity to deeds of harm and violence. It is also trough this same compassion that we may be lead to vanquish lost souls and Demons. By ending their Lightless existence we grant these lost souls one last chance at peace trough unity with the Light in death.
When forced to harm and violence, it must always be motivated by pure intentions and compassion, like a parent disciplining their child, and never by anger or malintent.
Meditation is the medicine to the overly wrathful; trough it the Enlightened will learn to be patient and judge a situation rationally and objectively without falling prey to feelings or thoughts of Anger.
Apathy is the inability to appreciate and enjoy the world's gifts and pleasures, leading the soul to feeling empty and losing touch with the Light. Feelings of purposelessnes - much like feelings of malintent - may lead one to wander away from the Light and into the clutches of Darkness. The feeling of purposelessness originates, like the name suggest, a severing of the connection to the soul's purposes. Apathy is the tension or rather lack of tension that is created when one's capacity to do Light far exceeds the amount of Good one does in practice.
While the other three hindrances all describe instances of the forces of Darkness impairing our connection to the Light, Apathy and Restlessness are instances of a lack of Light itself, rather than an encroaching of Darkness. It may be caused by a separation with the fellow faithful and the Naaru for an extended period of time, or it may be brought forth by a lack of opportunities to realize the Light's will trough deeds.
For those souls who have been lead to feel apathy trough boredom, it is advised to seek out Darkness to combat and trough it re-establish their connection to the Light trough a reaffirmation of their duties. Sometimes though a soul can be lead to feelings of apathy exactly because of their extended struggle against the force of Darkness and separation of the Light. For those souls who are in danger of forgetting what it is exactly they are struggling for it is advised to seek out the Light instead. Seek out one's friends, make music, have fun, laugh and be merry; strengthen the inner Light by reaffirming its connection to others.
Charity is the answer to Apathy; volunteer work and vindication in particular.
Restlessness is the polar opposite of Apathy, being the result of too many impulses and stimulation overloading the mind. Restlessness is that state of in which the Light-touched soul might feel overwhelmed by the struggle against Darkness by spending too much. While from a lack of stimulation we might grow apathetic and fall into a deep stupor, from an overload of stimulation we will grow restless and uneasy. Restlessness originates from a state in which one's practice of doing Light inspired deeds far exceed one's capacity for it and the strain from this great demand threatens to consume us.
And also in a reverse to Apathy, one can be lead to feel restless when one is overwhelmed by the forces of Darkness. For these souls it is advised to temporarily withdraw themselves from the struggle of Light versus Darkness and seek comfort amongst the warmth of ones fellows and the singing of the Naaru. For those souls who feel that the pressure and demands of the Light and his fellows overwhelms them, it is advised to temporarily retreat from society and withdraw for some solitary meditation. A soul strained to extremes must be allowed time to recover, unwind and relax, though if one spends too much time in withdrawal one might start feeling Apathetic, like one would start feeling Restless if one spends too much time in the fray of the battles against Darkness.
A Restless soul, upon consulting his local Anchorite, may be temporarily excused from fulfilling his sacred duties or be granted a brief period of respite from doing so in order to reclaim his tranquility.
To Doubt is the wavering of one's faith in the Light and its benevolence. The faithful are often caused to waver in their faith when faced with an overwhelming tragedy, be it on a personal or on a grander scale. One might be lead to thoughts like “If the Light is truly perfectly altruistic, everywhere and all powerful, how could it allow such a tragedy to occur?”. The souls who are lead to waver because of these thoughts do so because great ignorance or hubris. Ignorance, in that said thoughts deny the very real presence of the Darkness. The Light does not rule unopposed, and everywhere it is threatened by the Darkness we dedicate ourselves to combating. Ignorance, too, may lead one one to perceive a natural part of the cosmic harmony as an evil. Death, for example, is not an evil; it is very much part of the cycle of life and has its undeniable place in the cosmic order as a part of life and trough it love. These ignorances are most often wrought forth by great hubris; to think on behalf of the Light as its equal. Who are children who question their mother's loving-kindness? The Light loves all its children equally, and to reason that it is not is nothing short of great ignorance wrought forth by hubris. No one child is worth more or less than the other; and only a soul who thinks itself greater than its fellows would be lead to humor such a thought.
To doubt is to suffer the ultimate separation with the Light; it is the rejection of the Light's extended hand. Trough it, one will loose its comfort and warmth, leading one on a sure path of Darkness to loneliness and despair. Even a single doubt of the Light's benevolence might be enough to instigate this tragic wavering.
To abolish such doubts we need only to accept the Light's Divine authority. It is greater and grander than all of us; though it realized Its will trough us. This may tempt one to think that it is the will of the individual that is being realized when one does the Light's bidding. These are the poisonous thoughts that will lead an Anchorite blessed with the loving Light's healing powers to think that said powers are his own. It is in their pride these wayward souls think themselves greater than the Light and fit to manipulate it and mold it to their wills. These souls must be reminded by their peers that it is not them who heal the innocent and smite the wicked; but the Light itself, and to think oneself as an equal to the Light is the height of Hubris, leading eventually to Doubts and the flickering of the inner Light. The Light's ways are incomprehensible; but Its splendor and sublimity are not.
Diligent prayer will keep the soul from wandering and doubting.
- Naaruvada Dogma:
- The Naaruvada Dogma: Theoretical Truths of the Light as taught to the Draenei people by the wisdom of the Prophet and the Revelation of the Naaru.
The Holy Light is the holiest of holies and the only Divinity worthy of worship; worship of any other divinities is folly and blasphemy.
While the Naaruvada accept the existance of other Gods, they call the divinity of said Gods in question. Gods like the Titans and the Old Gods might be powerful beings indeed, but they are not Divine in the way the Holy Light is; worship of demons, spirits or even the and any other supposed divinities – including, in a sense, the Naaru themselves - is to be regarded as idolatry and should be shunned. This does not mean that particular priesthoods of other divinities cannot in themselves achieve good; individual religions might preach values that are similar to those our Inner Light reveals to us; but it is by the Light-blessedness and only trough the Light-blessedness of these teachings that they obtain their value. If a religion preaches the same values of the Light, it is good; if it contradicts the Light, it will be wicked.
The Holy Light exists as a spark of Inner Light in every natural-born creature; faint and distant at first, but growing in strength as it is nourished by good deeds and pure thoughts; and weakening with every wicked deeds and evil thought.
[i]This process is sometimes called 'The Sacred Wheel of Deed and Thought'; for every good deed or thought, the Light becomes easier to hear; and when the Light is easier to hear, it will become easier to perform good deeds and think pure thoughts. The wheel can likewise be spun in the other direction towards Damnation: with every wicked deed or corrupt thought, it becomes harder to hear the Light; and the harder it is to hear the Light, the harder it will to act righteously and think pure thoughts. Seek out your local Anchorites who can assess in which direction the wheel is spinning.
Since every soul is by nature inclined to do good, it is only by corruption by the forces of Darkness that Its divine access to its Inner Light can be disturbed and perverted. Trough practices of faith – both martial and spiritual – it is possible to clear the soul of its hindrances and restore the unperturbed natural connection it was with the Light.
The Naaruvada acknowledges five such distinct Hindrances (Desire, Anger, Restlessness, Apathy and Doubt) each with their corresponding unique rites of purification. Seek out an Anchorite for further instruction on how to discover which burdens hinder your access to the Light and how to best purify them.
The battle against the forces of Darkness is fought on two fronts; as the Light's chosen Vindicators battle Its physical manifestations trough martial strength, so the Anchorites battle its spiritual incarnations in mental and physical planes, trough education and prayer. Therefore, the true Champion wields two weapons: the Hammer and the Book.
Warriors of the Light who fight Demons and other enemies of the Faith are commonly called 'Paladins' by the humans and 'Vindicators' by the draenei. Though vindicators are indeed the paragons of faith and beacons of inspiration and hope on the battlefield – holding its banner proudly aloft – they are not the only warriors of the Light. Any who take up arms for a righteous and selfless cause fight with the blessing and zeal of the Light in their hearts.
Likewise, preaches and guru's who educate the populace on spiritual matters and perform the important rituals are commonly called 'Priests' by humans and 'Anchorites' by draenei. Though the anchorites take charge of spiritual matters, they stand not alone; from the layman masses and the lowly initiates to the elder keepers of the Faith, it is the responsibility of all members of the community to keep the populace pious and true to the tenets of Faith. If the Anchorites are the generals that lead the soldiers onto the spiritual field of battle against the Darkness, then you – the general populace – are the soldiers.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:45 pm
- Rite and Sacrament:
- Vows
The Monastic Vows and Induction into the Order
Below is described the entry ritual and vows each member must take upon induction into the Order. Only when these rituals have been performed on hallowed ground by a sanctified Anchorite amidst a jury of peers will they be accepted by the Order. Failing to uphold the vows will result in sanctions – to be determined by the Anchorite caste - and possible explusion out of the Order.
Upon entry into the order, the Lay Member must denounce all his former titles and family relations and donate all of his personal posessions to the Order. During the ritual of induction, this is symbolized by disrobing in front of a certified Anchorite and handing him the garments. These actions are paired with the following words:
Anchorite: Do you, [Lay Member], by disrobing in front of your peers – who stand witness for the Holy Light – hereby denounce the titles and familiar relations of your former life?
Lay Member: With Mother/Father [Anchorite], my peers and the Light as my witness, I hereby denounce my former titles and family relations by offering you my robes.
Anchorite: By the Naaru, may it be so.
Once the garments have been handed over – the Lay Member wearing naught but the undergarments provided by the Order earlier – the denounciation will have been accepted. What follows are the Vows of Abstinence and Celibacy, which the Lay Member takes after adorning themselves in the robes provided by the Anchorite.
The Vows of Abstinence and Celibacy will be sanctified by the Anchorite shaving the Lay Member's head, symbolizing the sobriety the Lay Member swears to uphold. If this ritual is performed on a draenei male, the conspicuous horns themselves will be filed off, to permenantly break with the Lay Member's demonic potential, which all draenei carry with them by nature. Female Lay Members need not shave off all their hair, but will be expected to keep it short; and wear their cowls to cover up their hair whenever in public.
his ritual is paired with the following words:
Anchorite: Do you, [Lay Member], by having your head shaved in front of your peers – who stand witness for the Holy Light – hereby swear to uphold your Vows of Abstinence; abstaining from alchohol and excess and eating only the meals provided by the Order, unlesss otherwise demanded by scripture or your superiors; and the Vow of Celibacy, abstaining from any sensual contact and interaction with others, not laying with either man or woman?
Lay Member: With Mother/Father [Anchorite], my peers and the Light as my witness, I hereby swear to uphold the Vows of Abstinence and Celibacy
Anchorite: By the Naaru, may it be so.
Once the head has been shaven, the Vows of Abstinance and Celibacy will be accepted and the Lay Member will officialy have been inducted into the Order as a Neophyte.
Anchorital Vows
The following vows may be prescribed by an Anchorite to a member of the Order after confession or in punishment over breaking vows or failing to uphold the teachings of the Order. These vows are of temporary character – their length and duration may be determined by the Anchorite and must be adapted to the severity of the sin commited and the corruption of the soul these vows are designed to combat. These vows take precedent over any other prescripts of the Naaruvada.
Hermitage – might be prescribed to a member who is suffering from severe Restlessness (see: Hindrances). A hermitage is a self-imposed solitary exile to a place remote from all temptations or distractions. The hermit will be provided in his needs by an Anchorite who will deliver food and supplies to him whenever the hermit is asleep. The hermit is to see no other soul besides himself for the duration of his hermitage.
The vow corrosponding to the hermitage, the Vow of Solitude, is to be taken only in the presence of the Anchorite supervising the hermitage in the agreed on location; the Anchorite who witnesses the vow is the last soul the hermit will encounter before embarking on his hermitage. The vow goes as follows:
Anchorite: Do you, [Member], swear in front of this Anchorite – who stands witness for the Holy Light – swear to shun all contact with other souls and live in solitude for the [agreed upon time of the hermitage]?
Member: With Father/Mother [Anchorite] and the Light as my witness, I hereby swear to shun all contact with other souls and live in solitude for the [agreed upon time of the hermitage].
Anchorite: By the Naaru, may it be so.
Fasting – might be prescribed to a member who is too distracted by his desires in order to function properly. A fast is a complete abstinence from food for the duration of the fast (to be determined by the Anchorite prescribing it) and will
The vow corrosponding to the fast, the Vow of Complete Abstinence, must to be taken on hallowed ground in the presence of an Anchorite and a jury of peers. The vow goes as follows:
Anchorite: Do you, [Member], swear in front of this Anchorite and your peers – who stands witness for the Holy Light – to complete abstinence from any and all food, only drinking water for [the agreed upon period of time]?
Member: With Father/Mother [Anchorite], my peer and the Light as my witness, I hereby swear to complete abstinence from any and all food and to drink only water for the [agreed upon period of time].
Anchorite: By the Naaru, may it be so.
Vow of Pacificsm – might be prescribed to a member who is suffering from wrathful urges or who has been giving in to his anger too much. He who takes a Vow of Pacifism abstains from all violence for the agreed on period of time, overriding any other caveats that might allow the Faithful to use violence, including a direct order by one of the Vindicator caste. Even when the Vow-taker's life is endangered, he still must stay true to his Vow of Pacificism and abstain from violence.
The Vow of Pacifism must be taken on hallowed ground in the presence of an Anchorite and a jury of peers. The vow goes as follows:
Anchorite: Do you, [Member], swear in front of this Anchorite and your peers – who stands witness for the Holy Light – to complete abstinence from violence under any and all circumstances, allowing no exception for [agreed upon period of time]?
Member: With Father/Mother [Anchorite], my peer and the Light as my witness, I hereby swear to complete abstinence from any and all violence under any and all circumstances, allowing no exception for [agreed upon period of time].
Anchorite: By the Naaru, may it be so.
Sacraments and rites
What follows are a more detailed description of some of the sacraments and rites the Anchorite tends over. These include but are not limited to: funeral rites, marriage, confession, blessings, resurrections, healing, exorcism.
To be continued
Last edited by Thelos on Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:19 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:45 pm
- Naaruvada Hymnal:
- Naaruvada Hymnal
The Light loves all who love; and all who love, love the Light
Compiled, translated edited and provided with commentary by High Priest Thelos the Illuminated.
Introduction
These translations of ancient Dreanic texts in to Common were commisioned by the High Priestess of the Aldor, Ishanah, with the purpose of providing a version of the Naaruvada teachings that is approachable for non-Draenic brethren of the Faith.
As always, the Anchorite must stress the necessity of the Living Revelation of the Naaru. The written word cannot capture the majesty of the Naaru's hallowed singing.
One must not look for the Light in dead ink on cold paper, but out in the warm and Light-lit world.
Open your heart to the Naaru, and all shall be layed upon you.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
-Anchorite Thelos.
A short introduction to the power of the Mantra, by Anchorite Thelos.
The hallowed singing of the Naaru is a comfort all Draenei are familiar with. It soothes our tempers, melts away poisonous thoughts and helps us focus and attune to our inner Light. However, one cannot reach true enlightenment by just soaking up the Naaru's warmth. Enlightenment is listening and acting; while the Naaru help us focus on the listening, we must travel far away from their reach to the Darkest places of the void-vast cosmos to spread their song ourselves.
To become a beacon of Light in the Naaru's image, we must seek out contrast; the Champion of Light must actively seek out the Darkness every where and any where in the Great Dark Beyond. It is when on these missions, when we are send far away to combat the Darkness that echoing the Naaru's song will help one recall that brilliant warmth that first led one to the inner Light. Sing, play an instrument, and above all keep on shining and being merry no matter the Darkness that surrounds you. When the night has all but fallen, we take a deep breath and turn to face the Legions of demons and chant the Naaru's brilliant war cry to show we are unafraid. The Light does not abandon its champions.
Similar to how a simple song can help to remember us to the Naaru's hallowed singing, so too can the sacred words of our most esteemed seniors on the Path help to give us focus on ours. The most illuminated of all of these words we call 'Mantra's', and their power is so grand that by their mere utterance the speaker comes closer to the Light. They are the verbalization of the Light's will and their most direct expression in language. Different Mantras may be recited on different situations to strengthen our resolve or devotion in numerous ways. Though the compilation in these texts is by no means extensive, it offers an overview of some of the most commonly recited and best known Mantras.
Remember not just to read the Hallowed Mantra's, but to actively recite them. A Mantra has power only over an active speaker Let your voice echo trough the Darkness like the echo of the Naaru rips trough the void-cast endless Dark.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
This Mantra may be recited and repeated at times when the speaker finds himself unable to summon up sufficient empathy to understand anther’s point of view. The Light feels only loving-kindness for all of her children; even to those it has all but completely withdrawn from. It is at times that the differences between the Faithful feel almost insurmountable that we recite the Mantra of Understanding to ask the Light to reinforce our intelligence, empathy and understanding, so that we may better materialize its will.Mantra of Understanding wrote:We meditate on the glory of the divine Light;
may it inspire our understanding.
may it inspire our intelligence.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
No soul walks the path of Light alone. Together we are stronger and wiser than we are apart. The juniors on the path will do well to listen and learn from their seniors, though while the seniors for their part will find that teaching their juniors will allow their inner lights to shine most luminously. This Mantra reminds the speak of this fact; that even though the relationship between teacher and student may seem asymmetrical, in that only the students gain by learning and the teacher by gains nothing by teaching, that in reality we are all equal under the Light and each, student and teacher, gains equally. Any tensions of powers between the learners and the teachers is therefore wholly irrational.Mantra of Education wrote:Let the Studies that we together undertake be effulgent;
Let there be no Animosity amongst us;
Peace, Peace, Peace;
By the Naaru, may it be so.
As the name would imply, the Universal Mantra of Peace is one fit or any occasion and can and should be uttered on occasions where one generally feel a need to strengthen the resolve of oneself and others. It expresses the general will of the Light that each and every one of its children may flourish and reach enlightenment; a goal the Faithful will never seize working towards.Universal Mantra of Peace wrote:May good befall all;
May there be peace for all;
May all be fit for perfection;
May all experience that which is auspicious.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
This Mantra is often recited before a communal meditation session. It beseeches the Light's aid to purge the mind of any foul poisons and taints which threaten to drown out the inner Light's guiding voice. A clouded and disturbed mind will not find its way to the Light; one must keep a clear head at all times. This Mantra, and the meditation that often follows it, will help keep the mind clean.Mantra of the Clear Mind wrote:The soul who dwells in loving-kindness,
who trusts in the Naaru's Teaching,
will attain that state of peace:
the blissful fading away of conditioned things.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
This Mantra may be recited when the Darkness has made itself known and the Faithful requires the aid and inspiration of the Light to combat it. We beseech it to strengthen our inner Light and ward the Darkness away from within, pushing it outwards so that it may be vanquished in a brilliant flash. Reciting this Manta, similar to echoing the Naaru's song, will help one focus on one's inner Light. The Mantra of Illumination however differs in that it does so specificity to ward and dispel a known darkness.Mantra of Illumination wrote:O Divine Light, our hearts are filled with darkness.
Please make this darkness distant from us;
and promote illumination within us.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
Hymns
The Hymns compiled here have no names or authors.
They are a pure expression of the Faith and Love of the Draenei people.
No further introduction is necessary.I am a mass of sin;
Thou art all purity;
Yet thou must take me as I am
And bear my load for me.
No deeds I've done nor thoughts I've thought;
Save as thy servant, I am nought.
Guard me, O Light, and O, control
The tumult of my restless soul.
Ah, do not, do not cast upon me
The guilt of mine iniquity.
My countless sins, I say
Upon thy loving heart I lay.Thy greatness none can comprehend;
All dumb us Eredari are.
Forspent the powers of mortal mind;
They cannot climb so far.
How can I compass the brilliant Light;
that illumes both sun and star?
A thousand servant's tongues
Cannot tell all they praise;
Then how, poor I? Thy children, we
Guardians of loving ways!
Within the shadow of thy grace
Ah, hide me, the mortal says.
The unsurpassed, deep, profound, subtle, wonderful Light,
In a hundred thousand million eons, is difficult to encounter;
Now that I've come to receive and hold it, within my sight and hearing,
I vow to fathom the Never-Was One's true and actual meaning.
Incense in the censer now is burning,
All the Light's Realms receives the fragrance.
From afar the void-vast host of Naaru,
All inhale its sweetness.
In every place auspicious clouds appearing
Darkening mists dispersing
Our sincere intentions thus fulfilling
As all the Naaru sing their perfect songsThe Army of Light marches on wrote:Atop the highest mount of Argus, the miracle did unfold
the hallowed Naaru descended, as the prophet had foretold
taught the ways of Love and Right by Velen the Divine
the Naaru's Light in their hearts the chosen did enshrine
As the Army of Light marches on (marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (it marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (as the Army of Light marches on)
We bring their Wisdom to the darkened worlds the cosmos holds
as their Light, their Laws, their Love and Justice we shall uphold
anywhere the righteous march, the darkening mists disperse
alien heavens fill with Their song, as we recite Its sacred verse.
As the Army of Light marches on (marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (it marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (as the Army of Light marches on)
We march across a thousand worlds under a thousand stars
and across a thousand-thousand more we fight Its holy wars
Yay, our trek across the void-vast dark has been hard and long
yet, the Army of Light, the Naaru's chosen, must march forever on.
As the Army of Light marches on (marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (it marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (marches on)
As the Army of Light marches on (as the Army of Light marches on)
The Army of Light marches forever on.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:45 pm
- Lecture of High Priest Thelos the Illuminated:
- On Martyrdom
The following Naaruvadean mass was delivered by Thelos on 23/01/2012 to a small crowd of eager Draenei outside A'dal's Chamber, Shattrath.
On Death, Shadow and the Hereafter.We dedicate tonight's gathering to M'uru, the Martyr. I pray that, trough the loving guidance of the Light – may it have mercy on my ignorance - I may be granted the eloquence to properly echo the warmth of his song trough my hollow and cold words.
Know that the wisdom I am about to share with you is not my own; it is the ancient wisdom of the Naaru as revealed to all of the Light's needy children. Foolish are those who, in their hubris, take the Light's gifts to be of their own design.
If, Light willing, my words strike true, I will have been nothing but a conduit for the Naaru's wisdom.
M'uru.
M'uru sacrificed himself to absolve the Blood Elven people from their innumerable sins against the Light. He willing and knowingly suffered the sapping of his Lightgiven energies, to the point of even collapsing into a hollow Void.
Yet, when the blessed heroes of the Shattered Sun destroyed this hollow coil, Velen revealed that M'uru's heart was as luminous as it was at the Dawn. Throughout all Its suffering It had braved the encroaching darkness to remain as pure as It ever was.
As you all know, this spark was used to re-ignite the Sunwell, and to this day M'uru's sacrifice stands as a beacon of Light that continues to guide an entire people along the path to redemption.
His suffering, the endurance of torture in the name of the Light and the love of others, was not of the type the unenlightened suffer in their ignorance, but the willing and knowing suffering of the Martyr.
The Naaruvada teaches that the root of all suffering is ignorance, and that in this ignorance we stray from our natural paths of Light. How different, then, is the suffering of the Martyr, who trough suffering strengthens his connection to the Light!
The Naaruvada acknowledges five distinct hindrances that prevent our natural access to the Light trough suffering. Know these personal hindrances, so that you may avoid meaningless suffering that might obstruct your connection to the Light.
We suffer from inflated bodily desires when our desires exceed our saturation of them, or when our saturation exceed our desires,
We suffer from restlessness, whenever our actions seem to exceed our capacities,
We suffer from apathy, whenever our capacities seem to exceed our actions,
We suffer feelings of anger, hatred, and of general malintent whenever we are unaware of the entire reality of a given situation, blinded to the core majestic Truth that the Light loves all Its children equally.
And we suffer from Doubt whenever the Light appears far instead of close, cold instead of warm, trough the taint wrought forth by the ever encroaching Darkness.
All of these forms of suffering leads one to stray from the Light's loving embrace. Yes, all suffering, safe for the suffering of the Martyr. The Martyr suffers not his own ignorance, but rather that of his fellows, taking their sin as his own.
Yet, The Martyr who absolves the sins of his brothers will attain even greater enlightenment than those whose sins he redeemed. It is by casting our Light on others that we grow even more luminous. Darkness begets Darkness, as Light begets Light.
Though to to unenlightened eyes the soul of the Martyr may seem to be in danger of falling to the encroaching Darkness, the enlightened soul knows that a true Martyr is immune to any and all corruptions, for he suffers for the greatest cause:
That of bringing Light to the Darkest corners of the cosmos, thereby realizing the supreme enlightened will, achieving true unity with the Light and everlasting harmony. The suffering of the Martyr relieves the pain of the Light Itself.
It is this unity with the Light that all souls strive to attain by nature, and it is what the Naaruvada strives for also. By becoming beacons of the Naaru's Light, we may pierce trough the Darkness that hangs over our minds like a foul veil.
My brothers and sisters, it is for this noble purpose that we have gathered here today. I, Anchorite Thelos, humble servant of the Naaru, have been tasked to bring Their Light to hitherto Darkened, soon to be illuminated, corners of creation.
I have elicited three goals to help further this end.
To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to the races of Azeroth at large and to educate all races and peoples in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.
To propagate a consciousness of The Light, as it is revealed by the Naaru to Velen and other chosen prophets.
To bring the races of the Azeroth together with each other and nearer to The Light, the prime entity, thus to develop the idea within the members, and the sentient races of Azeroth at large,
that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of the cosmic Light.
Any who feel themselves beckoned to echo the Naaru's song throughout the worlds of Draenor and Azeroth is invited to come speak to me after the mass has concluded, so that they may be drafted as soldiers in the battle against Darkness and Suffering.
As for now, my brothers and sisters, I ask you to join me in song so that we may honor the memory of M'uru by echoing its elegy. May a parcel of his sacrifice descent upon us and guide us away from the Darkness and towards the light.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
This mass was delivered during a Friday Community Mass, 17-02-2012, Stormwind.
On Education on Soran-Zenkil.My fellow brothers and sisters of the Faith, I thank all of you for joining me in humble supplication to the Holy Light, whose brilliance outshines both Sun and Star, the great Illuminator of Worlds, to whom we owe our total devotion and obedience
The Naaruvada, of which I am the High Priest, invites all of you to join us on a pilgrimage trough the Dark Portal to Auchindoun, the Draenei city of the dead, where we will not only commemorate the martyrs of the battle of Shattrath,
but all the champions of the Light who fell to vindicate Its Divine mandate. To honor their sacrifice, I will dedicate tonight's mass to them. In doing so, it would only be fitting for me to speak on the grave topic of death and the hereafter.
Why do our souls, who each partake and are a parcel of the Light, inhabit these crude mortal husks? Each natural born soul carries with it an echo of the Light. It allows the soul to connect to It and trough it partake in its love.
But why can we only partake in It trough these roundabout means? Why has the Light, if It loves us without limit, cast us away from Its warm bosom and into a cold unloving world plagued by Darkness and evil?
The answer is deceptively simple. The reign of Darkness in the material world is as sure as the the Light's endless love in the transcendental. The Light, in Its limitless kindness, cannot bear to suffer the existence of such wretchedness and has ripped
itself into many individual pieces and sprinkled them throughout the cosmos, birthing Souls to bring Light to the darkest corners of the cosmos. The Light Itself cannot directly intervene in the material world, for if it were to mingle
and mix with the Darkness present in the foulness of matter directly, It would no doubt suffer corruption. That is why it has send us, Its children, to realize Its divine mandate to bring love to the material world, in a Will that is actually our own.
And that is why we, tiny parcels of the Light, suffer trough the Darkness in Its stead. In order for the Light to materialize in the material world, it inevitably has to cast a Shadow. The Body is the Shadow of the Soul, and the Soul is an echo of Light.
This, however, requires us to brave the Darkness of this world and stay true to the original cause. However, as we wander trough the material planes, we inevitably suffer from the taint and corruption of the ever present Darkness.
From those Souls who fall and embrace this Darkness, the Light will be violently forced out. They will suffer from Its withdrawal by growing colder and distant to Its loving and soothing song. If the Soul can be seen as a luminous star,
cascading the Darkness of our bodies and minds with luminosity, then the Souls from which the Light withdraw collapse into themselves to become Black Holes, cold voids who suck in vast amounts of Light and Love,
taking on the appearance of vitality and might while actually being empty at their cores. Left alone to rot and wallow in despair, these wayward souls will continue to consume and destroy until their mortal coils inevitably shrivel and their souls are
consumed by the nothingness that is their core.
How different are the fates of Souls who have stayed true to their purpose. These brilliant beacons of Light who pierce the Darkness of the material world with their loving glow, giving everything without asking anything in return,
braving any and all assaults on their devotion and piety; these most beloved Souls will ride the luminous beam that glows brightly at their cores to a reunion with the Light, in which they will find everlasting peace in unity with It.
The root of all suffering we must endure as creatures of the material world is the Darkness that seeps trough its every crevice. Trough its murky lens we perceive each other as separate. This is illusory; we are all parcels of the same divine Light.
This separation is the greatest weapon ever conceived by the forces of Darkness. Trough it we grow distant from each other while we ought to be close, cold while we ought to be warm, and uncaring while our Love ought to be limitless.
Though we unworthy individuals may be suspect to corruption trough sin, the Light, as an eternal transcendental force, is beyond it; and by it, above all suffering. When our time on this material plane draws to a close,
the drops of water that are our Souls will ride the river of Love and empty in the Ocean of Light, absolving their illusory separation from It and other Souls, finding everlasting peace and harmony. The Light suffers not.
Darkened Souls that have grown too attached to the corruption of matter, unwilling to let go, will cling to its illusions as wandering ghosts, forever doomed to exist between the transcendental Love of the Light and the cold Darkness of the material,
until they eventually fade into nothingness, alone and unloved.
The only exception to this undeniable truth of creation are those lightloved Souls who decline or postpone their promised unity with the Light to guide lost wanderers back to It. These souls are surely amongst the noblest of the Light's champions.
I should mention that even if the Light is ripped from the Soul by some foul trick of Fel, it is never absolutely forced out. Even if the Soul can no longer feel the comforting warmth of the Light, It still cares from them deeply. Separation is illusory.
And if they live according to the Light's mandates, materializing Its Divine Will, they too will find unity with the Light in their final ends. Even when It feels cold and distant, know that the Light does not abandon Its champions,
and that it is never too late to repent.
Thank you and may the Light have mercy on your Souls.
This mass was held on the Aldor Rise, Shattrath, 1-06-2012.
Traditionally, a lecture from senior to junior anchorite is always started off with the Manta of Education. Since the subject I'll be talking about today is the education of educators, I thought it only fitting we'd recite the Mantra together today.
Now oftentimes when I recite a mantra before or during a sermon or seminar, my words seem to only echo in the void. People unfamiliar with the Naaruvadean traditions seem to be unable to tell a Mantra from preaching.
The difference is simple. A Mantra requires participation. The words hold power, not over the listener, but over the speaker. So rather than staying passive, the communion must actively recite the Mantra for it to have any effect.
So, I will demand of everyone that they participate. No exceptions. I do not want any one to listen in silence.
Repeat after me.
Let the Studies that we together undertake be effulgent;
Let there be no Animosity amongst us;
Peace, Peace, Peace.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
The practice of education is that duty of the Anchorite which is the most loved and blessed by the Light. Though it may appear that it is only the student who grows closer to the Light trough the receiving of knowledge from his elders,
it is in fact also the teacher that grows along with his students. By allowing the Light of their wisdom to shine upon their students, they will foster their own Inner Light to a glow. The practice of education is one of mutual enlightenment.
The student learns, the teacher shares, and both do the Light's work.
The craft or art of teaching is complicated and has many facets. For starters, not every student is the same, and a method or technique that is successful on one, may completely fail on another. There is no one golden method that always yields success.
The core of the teaching craft lies exactly in the ability to divine what method works best on which student. In ancient Erdun, we call this ability “Soran-zenkil”. The direct translation to Common would be “Skill-in-means”,
but since that sounds much too technical and aloof, I will stick to using the Eredun term Soran-zenkil.
Soran-zenkil is a concept which emphasizes that practitioners and teacher may use their own specific methods or techniques that fit the situation in order to gain Enlightenment. The implication is that even if a technique, view, et cetera,
is not ultimately "true" in the highest sense, it may still be an expedient practice to perform, or a helpful view to uphold. In other words, if it may bring the practitioner closer to true realization anyway, it is worth preaching and practicing,
even if it is not strictly true. The exercise of skill which the concept Soran-zenkil it refers to, the ability to adapt one's message to the audience, is of enormous importance to the Naaruvada canon.
The underlying assumption is that, since the Naaru's Divine Gifts and Messages are averbal and bypass the mind to directly affect the heart and soul, no one dogma or technique can ever truly grasp the Light's glorious Truth.
Adhering to any one dogma and declaring it to be the Light's will in written words is blasphemous. The Light does not speak. The Light's ways are far more subtle. The Light does not command. Commands implies force. The Light quietly suggests.
The Light's true message becomes distorted whenever we convince ourselves that we have finally managed to catch its true breadth in a simple set of phrases. A dead doctrine is a dangerous doctrine, and we must never substitute the warmth of the Light
with the cold of quiet ink on paper.
Must we then distort the truth in order to teach it? Must we deceive, lie, and trick our students and even unwitting converts into accepting the Light? No. Lies and stories are two different animals all-together.
Does the fact that the events of the great moralistic tales never actually happened deter their meaning? No, of course not. We tell the truth in the form of what is easy to understand, that which speaks to our emotions as well as our intellect:
in other words, that which speaks to our entire being, instead of only a tiny part of it. A lie is an untrue statement that tells of a falsehood. A story is several untrue statements that together tell a truth.
The virtue of soran-zenkil is one of storytelling, not of lies deceit. We tell the truth, not trough long-winded preaching and tiresome doctrinal scriptures, but trough songs, poems, stories, fables and mythology.
That is soran-zenkil: a virtue and skill, whose merits I pray you have now come to properly appreciate.
Since we opened this lecture with the Mantra of Education, I wish to end it with the Mantra of Understanding, traditionally recited at the end a lecture. Once again, I ask of everyone to recite it with me, no exceptions.
We meditate on the glory of the divine Light;
may it inspire our understanding,
may it inspire our intelligence.
By the Naaru, may it be so.
Thelos- Posts : 3392
Join date : 2011-07-18
Age : 34
Location : The Netherlands
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:46 pm
- Naaruvada Meditations:
- The following texts were written by High Priest Thelos the Illuminated and together form the core of the Order's theoretical foundations.
These writings are intended for advanced anchorites and are intended for scholary purposes only.
-Exarch Huruma the Purifier
First Discourse: On the origin and presence of the Holy Light and the Darkness that ever threatens to consume it
Every natural born creature is endowed with a soul. Every soul partakes in the glory of Light trough what we have come to known was our inner Light. This inner Light connects the soul to all other sources of Light and trough them all that is good in the universe. The Light is both in us and outside of us. The Light is a cosmic, eternal and perfectly benevolent force. It is endless, undying and infinite. It wishes only for the well being for all of it's children indiscriminately. It is perfectly altruistic. In the soul that dwells in loving kindness and has naught but benevolent intent, the inner Light will flourish, enlightening the soul and cascading in comforting warmth. These souls will find inner peace and happiness, and will be delivered from suffering.
Yet, the Light does not rule unopposed. Where there is Light, there is also Darkness that threatens to consume the soul and blind it to the inner light which is its birthright. The Darkness has been known to take many forms. It comes in the shape of venomous thoughts that disturb and numb the mind to the guidance of the Light. It comes in the shape of material distractions that seduce and murk the body to meaningless physical distractions who more than often will proof to be harmful. Where Darkness enters the soul, the Light is forced to withdraw. Those who forsake the Light are left in despair and in the loneliness of a soul trapped in the void. It is to these cold and and abandoned souls the Fel presents itself. It is in their weakest moments that the Souls mistake the diabolical flames of Fel for the warmth of the Light to which they have grown a stranger. The Fel will twist and corrupt these poor soul into an unrecognizable demonic form. Embittered they fall prey to the maddening whispers of Fel and vow to destroy the Light they mistakenly feel has abandoned them, while it was actually originally them who forsook it. It is from these souls the Light has been completely forced out.
How do we ward our souls from the forces of Darkness? Only the soul in which the Light shines luminously will be protected from evil. And how does one nourish their inner light? By acting in accordance of it's will and doing good in the world. How do we know what it's will is? By materializing it. Only by doing good we grow more sensitive to the Light’s faint whispers, and only by listening to it’s whispers and heeding to it’s loving guidance do we learn how to do good. Listening and acting, acting and listening; these two reinforce and strengthen one another, and both fuel the spark of Light to set the soul ablaze. This Sacred Wheel of deed and thought, once properly put in motion, will spark the inner Light and will fuel it until the soul becomes a Beacon of Light.
Only a soul born as pure as the Light itself will be able to make out the Light's faint whispers and distinguish it from the distractions of Darkness by its own. Even though the Light has been within the souls of every natural born creature since the dawn, almost none of the Light's children have been able to recognize their benefactor on their own. The Sacred Wheel must first be spun by an exterior force; we must be made aware of our inner Light. This is the Gift that the Naaru have so mercifully bestowed upon us. The Naaru are beings of pure unaltered Light. Just by being in their presence, feeling the warmth of their light wash over us and listening to their timeless song we are inspired to do and think good. The empty soul will open its heart to the Naaru by nature. Only a mind spoiled by evil thoughts or a body corrupted by foul influences will be blinded to the Naaru's magnificence. Creatures of such unfathomable purity are wholly incapable of dark thoughts and deeds. This is made obvious even to those yet unfamiliar to the voice of their inner Light trough their sublime splendor and magnificence. It is by accepting their warmth into our hearts that we first familiarize our souls with their inner Light. Even when removed from their direct presence, the mere memory of their song is so powerful that it will guide us to our inner lights. Besides the Naaru, we must also depend on the teachings of our peers that are further along the path of enlightenment. By adhering to the enlightened codes and dogma's laid down by our older siblings of the Light we will learn how to act in accordance to Light's will trough action. These codes and laws will substitute the voice of our inner light until we have grown sufficiently familiar with it. If we take the Naaru's song to heart and adhere to the code of our enlightened peers, ultimately our thoughts and deeds will synchronize with the Light. Our will becomes the will of the Light, our actions always the realization of this divine will. Our souls will become Beacons of Light, like the Naaru we seek to emulate, and also like the Naaru we in turn will guide our juniors along the Magnificent Path. We will become wholly incapable of dark thoughts and deeds.. Our enlightened souls will no longer have any need for the dogma's or codes, as they have perfectly synchronized with their source, and have become immune to the Darkness they were designed to ward off. In being freed of Darkness we also become freed of evil intent and thus from suffering. The souls who have achieved this level of enlightenment will find that their unity with the Light will persevere trough death.
Warding the Darkness: On the Purification of the Mind's Waters.
The origin of all Light in our souls is good intent, and the root of all good intent in our souls is the Light. Likewise, the origin of all Darkness is malintent, and the root of all malintent is the Darkness. The Light brings us pleasure and joy. The Darkness only suffering and despair. Just as we learn to act in accordance with the Light by listening and acting, so can we fall from grace by entertaining ill intent and acting upon said intent. The Darkness can enter our souls trough two pathways, who open up due to our weaknesses of body and will. These are the paths of the body and passions on the one hand, and the path of the mind and thought on the other. Though distinct, these paths are certainly intertwined deeply, as faltering of the mind will often lead to bodily faltering and the other way around. Just as the mind instructs and guides the body, the body feeds and nourishes the mind.
The surest way to safeguard our souls against the darkness is by keeping a clear mind. The soul's vessel must remain pure at all times. One might see the mind as a vast expanse of water, with the inner light as a brilliant luminous globe at its center. When the waters grow murkier, the Light will become hidden amongst the muck, allowing the Darkness to slip in. We must keep our mind's waters clear. In their unfathomable wisdom, the wisest of sages that illuminate the path have identified five possible disturbances the mind may face in it's natural search for tranquility and purity. These are known as the Five Hindrances.
Second Discourse: The Five Hindrances
Bodily desires taken on their own are healthy and natural. Every sound soul must inhabit a sound body, and our bodily desires, when pure and uncorrupted, will sustain a sound body. It t is when we consume or sense more than is naturally necessary to sustain a sound body that our desires will inflate accordingly. As our minds grow accustomed an increased intake, we shall once again be lead to consume more than our inflated senses desire, leading said desires to once more be inflated, which will lead us to consume more, and so forth. This vicious circle of increase in desires and consumption will always cause unrest, as we will inevitably run into the point that our consumption will no longer be able to answer to our inflated desires. This suffering may cast a vast Darkness upon our soul and lead us to acts of mali ntent in order to nourish our unnatural desires.
The taint of inflated bodily desires can be purged by reverting the viscous spiral of increased consumption and desire into a descending spiral of decreased consumption and decreased desire. This must be tackled trough the two paths; the bodily and the mental. We must reconnect our body and mind to rediscover our true sound and uncorrupted desires trough intensive meditation which focuses on the sensual and consuming parts of the body; the mouth, the stomach, the genitalia, and so forth. At the same time we must consume and sense less. These two activities, mental and bodily, will reinforce each other; though we must be careful not to let our desires and consumption drop under that which a sound body requires. To ensure this we must meditate on the matter profusely. With the desires synchronized with what it naturally requires to sustain a sound body, the tension between consumption and desire will be resolved in a natural equilibrium.
Anger or other wicked intentions directed at one's fellows are amongst the darkest of taints to threaten one's connection to the Light. Anger in the broadest sense are all feelings and thoughts based on harming our fellows in any shape or form trough any imaginable means. To inflict harm on others trough cruelty or violence rooted in anger is always an affront to the Light and a violation of its Divine Will.
Though anger will almost always be instigated by a flight of passions, it is one that always follows from a state and judgment of the mind. It is when said judgments are made in ignorance and insufficient empathy to our fellows that we are lead to feelings of anger. The Enlightened cannot become angry with the Light; for he knows It to be good and altruistic. Likewise, the Enlightened cannot become angry at his fellows, for he knows them to participate in the cosmic Light; trough it, they are part of it, and trough that part of himself. To inflict harm upon others is to inflict harm upon the Light, and trough that to the self. Therefore anger directed towards fellows cannot be anything but irrational.
One who is lead by his poisonous thoughts and ill passions to feel anger must never act upon this feeling. Trough a greater understanding of the circumstances that has lead one to feel such feelings it will be possible to remove them entirely; for anger is always irrational, and one who is wholly Enlightened will not feel it. If one is unable to achieve sufficient understanding of the circumstances and his fellows, one must place its faith in the Light and pray for guidance; if not by reason, then it must be by Faith that our feelings of anger must be overcome. The Light loves all of its children equally, and all naturalborn are its children. Though its children may squabble amongst themselves, by realizing that they spring from the same loving source they may overcome their malintent. Even if the source of the anger does not come to realize this and continues his relentless assault on our patience and compassion, we must stay vigilant and remember this natural fact obvious to all.
Though violence ought to be avoided as much as possible, there are times that the forces of Darkness leave us with little other options. Some souls of which the Light has all but withdrawn completely will not be able to heed its voice. With these souls it is nigh impossible to reach a mutual understanding of sorts. When these dark souls endanger their fellow children, they must be prevented from doing so; though not out of retribution or anger, but out of compassion. Violent and harmful actions based on violent and harmful thoughts will inspire more thoughts and deeds of the kind and will lead a soul further along the path of Darkness. To prevent these Souls from falling further we must impair their capacity to deeds of harm and violence. It is also trough this same compassion that we may be lead to vanquish lost souls and Demons. By ending their Lightless existence we grant these lost souls one last chance at peace trough unity with the Light in death.
When forced to harm and violence, it must always be motivated by pure intentions and compassion, like a parent disciplining their child, and never by anger or malintent.
To Doubt is the wavering of one's faith in the Light and its benevolence. The faithful are often caused to waver in their faith when faced with an overwhelming tragedy, be it on a personal or on a grander scale. One might be lead to thoughts like “If the Light is truly perfectly altruistic, everywhere and all powerful, how could it allow such a tragedy to occur?”. The souls who are lead to waver because of these thoughts do so because great ignorance or hubris. Ignorance, in that said thoughts deny the very real presence of the Darkness. The Light does not rule unopposed, and everywhere it is threatened by the Darkness we dedicate ourselves to combating. Ignorance, too, may lead one one to perceive a natural part of the cosmic harmony as an evil. Death, for example, is not an evil; it is very much part of the cycle of life and has its undeniable place in the cosmic order as a part of life and trough it love. These ignorances are most often wrought forth by great hubris; to think on behalf of the Light as its equal. Who are children who question their mother's loving-kindness? The Light loves all its children equally, and to reason that it is not is nothing short of great ignorance wrought forth by hubris. No one child is worth more or less than the other; and only a soul who thinks itself greater than its fellows would be lead to humor such a thought.
To doubt is to suffer the ultimate separation with the Light; it is the rejection of the Light's extended hand. Trough it, one will loose its comfort and warmth, leading one on a sure path of Darkness to loneliness and despair. Even a single doubt of the Light's benevolence might be enough to instigate this tragic wavering.
To abolish such doubts we need only to accept the Light's Divine authority. It is greater and grander than all of us; though it realized Its will trough us. This may tempt one to think that it is the will of the individual that is being realized when one does the Light's bidding. These are the poisonous thoughts that will lead an Anchorite blessed with the loving Light's healing powers to think that said powers are his own. It is in their pride these wayward souls think themselves greater than the Light and fit to manipulate it and mold it to their wills. These souls must be reminded by their peers that it is not them who heal the innocent and smite the wicked; but the Light itself, and to think oneself as an equal to the Light is the height of Hubris, leading eventually to Doubts and the flickering of the inner Light. The Light's ways are incomprehensible; but Its splendor and sublimity are not.
Apathy is the inability to appreciate and enjoy the world's gifts and pleasure, leading the soul to feeling empty and loosing touch with the Light. Feelings of purposelessness, like malintent, may lead one to wander away from the Light and into the clutches of Darkness. The feeling of purposelessness originates, like the name suggest, a severing of the connection to the soul's purposes. Apathy is the tension or rather lack of tension that is created when one's capacity to do Light far exceeds the amount of Good one does in practice.
While the other three hindrances all describe instances of the forces of Darkness impairing our connection to the Light, Apathy and Restlessness are instances of a lack of Light itself, rather than an encroaching of Darkness. It may be caused by a separation with the fellow faithful and the Naaru for an extended period of time, or it may be brought forth by a lack of opportunities to realize the Light's will trough deeds.
For those souls who have been lead to feel apathy trough boredom, it is advised to seek out Darkness to combat and trough it re-establish their connection to the Light trough a reaffirmation of their duties. Sometimes though a soul can be lead to feelings of apathy exactly because of their extended struggle against the force of Darkness and separation of the Light. For those souls who are in danger of forgetting what it is exactly they are struggling for it is advised to seek out the Light instead. Seek out one's friends, make music, have fun, laugh and be merry; strengthen the inner Light by reaffirming its connection to others.
Restlessness is the polar opposite of Apathy, being the result of too many impulses and stimulation overloading the mind. Restlessness is that state of which in wich the Lighttouched soul might feel overwhelmed by the struggle against Darkness by spending too much. While from a lack of stimulation we might grow apathetic and fall into a deep stupor, from an overload of stimulation we will grow restless and uneasy. Restlessness originates from a state in which one's practice of doing Light inspired deeds far exceed one's capacity for it and the strain from this great demand threatens to consume us.
And also in a reverse to Apathy, one can be lead to feel restless when one is overwhelmed by the forces of Darkness. For these souls it is advised to temporarily withdraw themselves from the struggle of Light versus Darkness and seek comfort amongst the warmth of ones fellows and the singing of the Naaru. For those souls who feel that the pressure and demands of the Light and his fellows overwhelms them, it is advised to temporarily retreat from society and withdraw for some solitary meditation. A soul strained to extremes must be allowed time to recover, unwind and relax, though if one spends too much time in withdrawal one might start feeling Apathetic, like one would start feeling Restless if one spends too much time in the fray of the battles against Darkness.
The various meanings of the concept “Light”
The Light comprises all the mysteries of the Naaruvada faith, and cannot easily be explained in a few words. Naaruvadins in Draenor normally did not describe themselves as "Naaruvadins", but as "followers of the Light". This "Light" is the name for an impersonal spiritual force behind and in everything. Being spiritual and not of this world, it is rather elusive and not easy to define or get hold of. Judged by logical standards the word is extremely ambigious. But since the Light is the subject-matter of all Naaruvadian teachings, it is necessary to list its main meanings, and to show their interconnection:
1. First of all it is a world for the one ultimate reality. One spiritual reality underlies all that we percieve in and around us. It is real as contrasted with the illusory things of the common-sense world, to it we should turn as we should turn away from them, for it alone brings true statisfaction. And it is not external to worldly things and events, but in some ways immanent to them, and the directing Law within them.
2. Secondly, by an easy transition, it means that ultimate reality as intepreted or stated in the Naaru's teaching, and in this subjective form it means "Doctrine", "Scripture", or "Truth".
3. Thirdly, Light, in both the first and second sense, may be reflected in our lives, may manifest itself in our actions, insofar as we act in accordance with it. The word thus assumes the meaning of "righteousness" and "virtue".
The Six Perfections of the Champion of Light
A Champion of Light is distinguished by three features: (a) In his essential being he is actuated by the desire to win the full enlightenment of a Naaru, which, from his point of view, implies complete omniscience, I.e the knowledge of all things at all times in all their details and aspects, (b) He is dominated by two forces, in equal proportion, I.e by compassion and wisdom. From compassion he selflessly postpones his entrance into the bliss of perfect Unity with the Light so as to help suffering creatures. From wisdom he attempts to win insight into the emptiness of all that is. He persists in his compassionate solidarity with all that lives although his wisdom shows him that living beings and all their woes are purely illusory, ( c) Although intent on ultimate purity, a Champion of the Light remains in touch with ordinary people in having the same passions as they have. His passions, however, do not either affect or pollute his mind.
A champion of Light's compassion is called “great”, because it is boundless and makes no distinctions. A champion of Light resolves to become the savior of all, whatever may be their worth o their claim to his attention. In earlier stages of the Faith, the wisdom of the saints had been fully emphasized, but now their selfless desire to make others happy is said to rank equal in value with it. Enlightenment is the thorough and complete understanding of the nature and meaning of life, the forces which shape it, the method to end it, and the reality which lies beyond it. This enlightenment, the Naaruvadins agreed, does not automatically entail the desire to assist others.
A champion of Light must be a patient man. He wants to become complete unity and perfect harmony with the Light, but his distance from the transcendental perfection of the supreme Naaru, who both knows and is everything, will obviously be nearly infinite. Yet, he is separated from the Light only by one single small obstacle, i.e. his belief in a personal self, his assumption that he is a seperate Individual, his inveterate tendency towards “I-making and Mine-making”. To get rid of himself is the Naaruvadin's supreme task. By two kinds of measures he tries to remove himself from himself – actively by self-sacrficei and selfless service, cognitively by insight into the objective non-existence of the self. The first is due to his compassion, the second to wisdom, defined as the ability to penetrate to the true reality, to the “own-being” of things, to what they are in and by themselves. It is believed that action and cognition must always go hand in hand to bring forth their spiritual fruits
The unity of compassion and wisdom is acted out by the six “perfections”, or the six “methods by which we go to the Beyond”. A person turns into a Champion of Light when he first resolves to win full enlightenment for the benefits of all beings. Thereafter, until his attainment of true Unity with the Light, his every action and thought during his lifetime are devoted to the practise of the Six Perfections. So important is this concept that the Naaruvadins often refer to themselves as “The Vehicle of the Perfections”.
The six are:- Perfection of Giving,
- Morality,
- Patience,
- Vigor,
- Meditation,
- Wisdom.
Perfection of giving enjoins generosity, a willingness to give away all that one has, even one's own body, and the second the scrupulous observance of the moral precepts, even at the risk of one's own life. As for “patience”, the Naaruvada and other Naaru-bound Light cults have much more to say about it than the Azerothian churches, and use it in a wider sense than usual. As a moral virtue it means the patience endurance of anger or discontent when meeting with them. In addition, “patience” here is also considered an intellectual virtue and as such it means the emotional acceptance, before one has fathomed the whole of their depth,of the more incredible and anxiety-producing ontological doctrines of the Naaruvada, such as the non-existence of things. Vigor means that the Champion of Light indefatigably persists in his work over the ages and never feels discouraged; his perfection of meditation enables him to gain the proficiency in trances “numerous as the stars that light the Great Dark Beyond”. The perfection of wisdom finally is the ability to understand the essential properties of all processes and phenomena, their mutual relations, the conditions which bring about their rise and fall, and the ultimate unreality of their separate existence. At its highest point it leads right into the Emptiness which is the one and only reality. When compared to the Church of Light's Thee Virtues, it can be said that roughly the first corresponds to Compassion, the second with Respect, the third and fourth with Tenacity, while the fith and sixth have no equivalents in Azerothian doctrines.
On his path to true Unity with the Light and the full absolving of the self, the Champion of Light must traverse ten stages. The first six of these stages correspond to the six “perfections” and each of them is marked by the intensive practise of one of them. The sixth stage therefore corresponds to the perfection of wisdom and with it the Champion of the Light has by his understanding of emptiness come “face to face” with Reality itself. At that point he would be able to escape from the terrors of this world and he could, if he wanted to, becomes One with the Light. Out of compassion he nevertheless makes no use of this possibility, but stays on in the world for a long time so as to help those in it. Although in the world, he now is no longer of it. Dring the last four stages a Champion of the Light gains what the texts call “sovereignty over the world”, and he becomes a kind of supernatural being endowed with miraculous powers of many kinds. These gifts of the Light have been known and seen to take many forms throughout the development of the Faith, though to the layman the most well known of these powers is no doubt the power to Heal, the purest expression of the Champion's endless compassion.
Next we must say a few words about the “skill in means” (Upayaak in ancient Draenei), a virtue which is indispensable to a Champion of Light at all times, but which he possesses in its fullest only late, on the seventh stage, after the “perfection of wisdom” has thoroughly shown him the emptiness of everything that seems to be. “Skill in means” is the ability to bring out the spiritual potentialities of different people, by statements or actions which are adjusted to their needs and adapted to their capacity for comprehension. If the truth to be told, all of that we have described so far as constituting the doctrine of the Naaruvada is just “skill in means” and nothing more. It is a series of fictions elaborated to further the salvation of beings. In actual fact there are no Champions of Light, no hindrances, no perfections and no stages. All these are products of our imagination, just expedients, concessions to the needs of ignorant people, designed to ferry them across to the Beyond. Everything apart from the One, also called “Emptiness” or “Suchness”, is devoid of real existence, and whatever may be said about it is ultimately untrue, false and nugatory. But nevertheless it is not only permissible, but even useful to say it, because the salvation of beings demands it.
The Third Discourse.
The mind is the void in which stars shine
The stars come and they go, but the void remains untouched
The void is inherently black and clear, and although its blackness and clarity can be obscured,
it can never be destroyed.
The stars are like hindrances and delusions that pollute the mind.
Because of the transient nature of these mental states, they cannot be said to be inherent part of the mind.
They may obscure the mind's inherent awareness and compassion
but those qualities are never absent.
This old Eredari poem reminds us of an ancient and profound fact: that the concepts of “Light”, “Shadow”, “Void” and “Darkness” are but mere shallow approximations of eternal ideas that far transcend the Eredari (now Draenei) intellect. Hopelessly we sieve the ancient Naaru-bestowed knowledge with our hapless fingers, foolishly grasping at the Eternal as it runs trough us. We can consider ourselves blessed if it leaves even a single trace; a single grain of sand would be more than plenty to enlighten the darkened mind that so desperately thirsts to be liberated from its ignorant dwelling in darkness.
The Darkness is not “Darkness”,
The Shadow is not “Shadow”
And the Light is certainly not “Light”.
Words and meaning; truth and mind – these are distinct and incommensurable. A mortal, limited mind can only hope to climb so far; all hopeless us Eredari are, pride forsaken, prostrating at the Naaru's shining crystal-feet that are no feet. Servants, not masters, are we. Thus we sing the Light's praise and beg for forgiveness for our ignorance.
The limited mind is in want of the Word. In grasping the inexpressible, we turn to the expressed; the Light can only be seen trough the lens of the World. The mind's eye would be blinded if it were to directly perceive the sublimity of the Divine. Thus it turns to the the suns in the skies and stars in the void that offer themselves as the First Parable. The star burns like the Faithful; it is live-giving without life-taking, it consumes only itself, not others – it enlightens without the need of light. It pierces the otherwise black void, the present parable for Darkness and evil – and fills a cold cosmos with Good and Compassion.
Yet, Light is not “Light” is not The Light. Every star must inevitable collapse and fade nothingness, whereas the most profoundly subtle and eternal love of the Light is inexhaustible and infinite, permeating every atom of the cosmos. Often the confusion is made between parable and identity; primitive tribes, taking their first strides in the Light, turn to their world's Star, understood and seen as a Sun as the source of Light. This is the origin of all idolatry. While Suns are indeed one of the Light's Great Inspirators, they are not the Light; and worship of the inspiration, rather than the inspiration, is sacrilegious and an offense to the most profound subtlety of the Light. Even the Naaru, who are, as Inspirators, even greater than the Suns still, ask not to be worshiped; there is nothing Holy but the Holy Light. Sermon, Scripture, Words and Song are also like this; Inspirators alike to the Light, but not the Light in themselves. They are the channel trough which the Light's Love flows; but one does not drink channels; one drinks water.
This brings us back to the poem. The Void and the Darkness, often fallaciously used interchangeably (though this is a matter to be addressed another time), are used as parables for Evil, opposite to the Good of the Light. When the Stars in a the endless Void of Space are taken as the model of the profound subtlety of the Light, this is of course an unavoidable consequence; but this is so only in this model, insofar it is applied to the spiritual life. The merits of this poem lie in the destruction of this model and the standard use of language in which we speak of and understand these most important matters.
In the poem, the “Void” is not the cold evil opposed to the Light, but rather the calm stillness trough which the Light is to be perceived: the immortal and pure Mind; the channel trough which the Water of Light flows. As the Doctrine of the Five Hindrances teach us, only a clear and unpolluted Mind has unmediated access to the Grace and Salvation of the Light; here not directly described but implied to be a perfect quiet Blackness. Understood as a Blackness, the star's lights are what confound our understanding of the Light; they distract us with their shining bright lights from a direct and undiluted appreciation of the Light, which offers us peace and serenity in all things.
This Destruction of the standard model in which we speak of Spirituality enriches our understanding of the Light; it allows us to pierce trough the confounding confusion of language and allows us a more direct understanding of the Higher Concepts of the Divine (which cannot be adequately put in words.) When we understand that it is possible and even prudent to speak and understand the Light as a void and the Darkness as lights, we will intuitively understand that words and scripture are arbitrary and cannot hope to fathom even an inkling of the deep profound subtlety of the Light. That is why we must remain ever ardent in our scrutiny; our fickle minds are restless and always in flux and in great want of stable and steady teachings. These teachings, unlike the Light, are rigid and temporally fixed, whereas the Divine is fluid and eternal and will always take on different forms unique to any given temporal and cultural situation.
It is often said that the Light speaks to us in our own voice. To an advanced people with no visual faculties, the Light would be described primarily in terms of Sound; in a people that lack both sight and hearing, it would be a scent; in a people that lack all three, it would be a feeling of touch; for a people that lack all of these sensory faculties, it would be a thought; and for a people that lack even that, the Light would simply be the Light; which is how the Light is experienced by the Naaru, the celestial beings closest and dearest to the Light.
Aphorism of the FlotsamWhat is a draenei?
Blue skin, tails, hooves and horns.
That is the body which the spirit inhabits. The body is the necessary anchor of the soul. It connects us to this world, trough it to others, and trough them to the Light. A single soul in solitude cannot reach the Light. Its Voice speaks to us in terms of the Other. Altruism. Us, the Selves, are asked by It to serve the Other in Its Hallowed Name.
But what is the Other? How does it differ from the Self? What is the Self?
The Self is not the Other; and the Other, is not the Self.
The Soul drifts amidst a rapid current of impressions, feelings, sensations, thoughts and ideas. Now it drifts east, then it drifts west. Now it submerges, only to emerge a moment later. We feel anger, love, hatred, jealousy, kindness, courage, fear and so forth. These are all currents of the soul's waters that mercilessly tow us to and fro.
We drift, yes, it is true – We drift. But this is not a state of Being the arrogant Self can accept. “Surely,” the Warrior and the Nobleman interject, “I am the captain of my ship. Yes, my ship may sail on a certain current, and be directed by this wind or the other – but certainly I am at Its wheel. I am the captain of my own ship, and Its direction is mine and my own to decide.”
Oh! You poor unfortunate soul, you!
The Ship of the Soul has no wheel.
Nor sails or a rudder of any sorts.
The Soul is more akin to scattered pieces of flotsam, drifting in the current.
How great, then, must the suffering of the self-proclaimed captain be, who steers his wheel-less ship. He steers port, yet the current takes him starboard. He steers starboard, yet the current shifts back to port again. Ah! But no, he says, “I steer starboard, and the ship takes me there. I command, and it follows.”
Unfortunate soul, you! It is not so. For it just the other way around: first is the current that takes the ship starboard – then the captain who concludes that he had meant to steer that way to salvage his own shattered illusions. The illusion is precious – the illusion must be preserved. Yet starboard is starboard – the direction is set, unchangeable. What creates the Illusion of the Wheel is just that – the false belief that there is a causal chain between the thought and the action. It is not so.
“Hogwsash!” the noble warrior proclaims, “Doth not I in my mind decide to strike down my foe, before I bring down my blade?”
Oh, you poor unfortunate soul! It is not so. When all illusions disperse into the mists, you will see that it was the blade that came down on another body, and the thought that followed it. The warrior strikes; then contemplates.
“This is absurd,” the nobleman says, “This may be the case for the instinctive actions – breathing, blinking and the movements of brutes – but certainly not for sophisticated affairs!”
Ah! You poor unfortunate soul! What is true for the pieces, is true for the whole. A building made out of bricks is made out of stone, if the bricks used to build it are. What are these so called sophisticated thoughts that are followed by sophisticated actions if not conglomerates of countless simple tasks and ideas?
The Self is the great Spectator. It is not the captain at the Wheel – it is the stowaway adrift on his raft, nay, without It even, under constant siege of merciless winds, currents and waves. The Self observes the happenings of the Soul, and out of helplessness, thinks himself a Captain on a ship. He thinks himself above his Thoughts and Actions – an overseer, a commander – yet, in truth, he is but an Observer.
The Soul, then, is a vast ocean, in which many currents, winds and rapids rage. These rages are actions, ideas, perceptions – all of the impressions that present themselves to the Self. Then what of the Oceans of the Others? Where doth one sea start and the other end?
You will say the boundary of the Self separates us. My Ocean with its rapids are only presented to Myself, and not the Other.
But is this truly so?
Think what a pitiful existence that would be! We would be adrift, countless Souls separated from one another, forever alone in the vast black void.
Thankfully, this is not so.
During our drift we encounter countless of torrents and winds that hail from other Oceans. How often do we find ourselves moved by waves of Beyond? Lo! These winds that blow trough my Soul are the very same that blow trough Yours. Do we, then, drift towards a common haven?
We do.
We drift towards the haven of the Light.
If the same winds blow trough My Ocean as Yours, what then is it that still separates us? The Self, you will say. Yet, if you follow me – as you should, be the Light merciful – you know the Self to be but an observer. What say you, child, if I were to say that the Self not only wrongly thinks himself a captain on a ship, rather than a drifter – but is wrong in thinking himself at all?
The Self is an Illusion.
The Self is the most powerful Illusion. The most enduring one. The beautiful Illusion. The splendid lull of Darkness. It is the waking sleep, and the sleeping wake.
Lo! The waters that rage trough you and me are the same.
Lo! The winds that blow trough my Soul blow trough yours also.
Lo! If my soul drifts east, so does yours, and when the current changes, so do the drifters.
There are no drifters.
There are no separate oceans.
One sea flows into the other, as the other flows back in to it.
The distinctions between them are arbitrary and illusory.
Properly understood and purged of illusions, all Souls share a common stream of thoughts and perceptions. Properly understood, the Direction is the same. Properly understood, there is no Manifold of Souls, but only One Soul.
The Soul is All, and All is Soul.
The Ocean is Darkness.
The winds and currents are manifold. Some of them are Dark winds, that blow us from, and some are Blessed winds, that blow us to, the Haven of Light.
The destinations are two – the Haven, which is eternal bliss and a reunion with the Most Hallowed Light from which all goodness came and comes; and the vast Ocean, which is the endless deep of Darkness, in every way a foil to the Light. The Haven is the High Heavens, the eternal Sun and Stars, the Darkness is the lonely Ocean Trenches. The Light is beautiful, the Darkness is terrible. The Light is peace and tranquility, the Darkness is war and suffering.
The Haven of Light shines ever Brightly
It is That which Pierces the Dark.
The Self is an illusory shadow, created when the Light breaks the Darkness.
The stream flows to the Light by nature, but everywhere and every time it is slowed and pulled down as the Darkness turns and churns to hinder the Righteous Course.
Enlightenment is when the Soul reaches the Haven. When it does, all will be well, now and always.
If the Soul ever gets fully drawn under, all will be lost in terrible lonely Darkness, for eternity.
What, then, are We? What is Our purpose? What does this all entail?
We are on a perilous journey to the Haven of Light. Sadly, the beautiful illusion of the Self is nigh unbreakable. It is an Illusion which is more powerful than reality. Its hold is absolute.
Though we know all Souls to be One – we experience them as separate.
Though we know our struggle to be unified – we squirm and squabble amongst ourselves, ugly and wicked parcels of a beautiful whole.
Is is unseemly.
Can we not transcend the struggle of selves? Are there no ways to pierce the veil?
There is One.
The Way of the Light.
Just as a single lit torch can reveal the truth of a cave hidden in Darkness, so can the Light pierce the illusions of the Self.
Doth not the Light command us to be altruistic?
Doth not the Light teach us to be empathic, to feel the Self in the Other, and the Other in the Self?
Doth not the Light teach us to sacrifice ourselves, to put the needs of the many above the needs of the few?
The Light batters endlessly on the foul citadel of the Self. Only by embracing it and lowering the gates can we transcend our mortal folly to rise from the Darkening deeps.
The Light has been shattered by Darkness, but it can mend itself.
It will mend Itself.
It shall mend itself.
The Darkness is no match for a Light that is whole.
There is but One Soul.
There is but One Light.
There is Darkness.
The Darkness shatters the Soul.
This Shattering is the Illusion of Self.
Only the Light may pierce this Illusion.
In piercing it, the Darkness is conquered.
Without Darkness, there is only Light.
Where there is only Light, there is no suffering.
All shall be well, when all is one with the Light.
In Darkness, all is wrong.
By the Grace of the Naaru and the Wisdom of the Prophet, we shall choose the Light.
The Light is the Way.
The Light shall pierce the veil.
The Light shall kill the Self.
The Light shall deliver upon us perfect harmony in unison with It.
By the Naaru, may it be so.Great Mantra of the Inner Light wrote:When pursuing the Inner Light's depths
recognize the five hindrances as completely empty
and pass beyond all vexations and distress.
Appearances are not different from emptiness,
emptiness is not different to appearances.
Appearances are emptiness,
emptiness is an appearance.
Impressions, thoughts, associations
and knowing too, are also like this.
All the Naaru's songs are empty of appearances,
are not created, are not extinguished,
are not defiled, are not pure;
do not increase, do not decrease.
For this reason, amidst emptiness there are no appearances,
nor are there any impressions, thoughts, associations and knowing,
There is no eye, ear, nose, tongue, touch, ideas.
There are no colors, sounds, smells,
tastes and touch.
There is no eye-element up to no imagining nor knowledge element.
Neither is any non-understanding,
nor is there any end to non-understanding up to no pain and death.
Neither is there any end to pain and death.
There is no suffering, cause, extinction or path.
There is no knowledge nor anything to find.
Because there isn’t anything to find,
the Enlightened is free in reliance upon the Naaru's Teachings:
a heart without any obstruction.
Because there are no obstructions, there is no fear.
Abandoning, overturning dreams and concepts,
finally reaching unity with the Light.
Because all the anchorites of the Great Dark Beyond have relied upon the Naaru's teachings
they have found true enlightenment trough others.
For this reason, know that the Inner Light is the great spiritual mantra.
The great understanding mantra.
The supreme mantra.
The unequaled mantra, able to cut through all vexation
because in reality there is no emptiness.
Speak the Inner Light's mantra, speak the mantra’s words:
naaru naaru paranaaru parasmanaaru shakure. - Perfection of Giving,
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:46 pm
- Uniforms:
- The default Naaruvada's Monk robes - as handed out Neophytes - consits out of:
Chest: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Head: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (or one of the many,many similar items sharing its model)
Waist: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (or a similar item sharing its model)
Shoulders (Optional) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
This is the set the members of the Order wear by default
---
There is currently no uniform for the Vindicators. Upon entry into the order, the Vindicator will donate his or her armor, which will be given back to him or her whenever he or she needs to don it. The guideline here is: the shinier, the better! The Vindicator caste completely reverses the sobre aesthetic, instead aiming to be as bright and colorful as possible as to say: "I am a Beacon of Light; follow me".
- Draenei Discourses on the Inner Light:
- Draenei Discourses on the Inner Light
The original thread in which Thelos layed down the foundation of the Naaruvada and discusses Draenei spirituality in general can be found on the DefiasRP forums.
More specifically, it can be found [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
Most information relevant for the Naaruvadean has since been distilled and expanded upon and can be found elsewhere in these forums.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by siegmund Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:48 pm
Warriors/Rogues/Hungers <- Typo
Interesting read though!
Interesting read though!
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:48 pm
And if after all that madness you are still willing to plunge head-first into the deligthful insanity that is the Naaruvada, please contact me so I can re-direct you to the nearest madhouse.
With love,
-Thelos.
With love,
-Thelos.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Dr. Haluthious Vouten Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:59 pm
*SCREAMS WITH EXCITEMENT*
I'm a "Light-Less being" - YAY!
I'm a "Light-Less being" - YAY!
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by erwtenpeller Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:37 pm
I am a great fan of this guild.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Seranita Tue Nov 26, 2013 12:10 am
after some hefty reading and a lot of studdy this is an awsome guild concept and is very good.. there are however a couple of things that bug me.. If one could clarify..
firstly naaru are there.. they are a fact.. they exist.. thus it is not beleave and faith of draenei that worship them but is a knowing proof of the lights existance,, faith requires beleaf.. you cannot beleave in a fact as a fact is fact.. absolubt truth.. it is there therefore it is there.. sort to say.. as such I am very supprised that you are guiding the guild into the direction of zellous religiousness.. it.. makes me concernd..
secondly it is mentiond about chastedy.. normaly such a thing and religion is true..
however in the case of draenei.. they have sufferd genocide on no less than two occasions.. as such one would emagin there numbers are slim.. dangeiourously slim.. I would have thaught that as a race they would promote mating.. rearing large families.. bolstering numbers.. as even thow draenei are tecnicaly imortal.. they do sucome to death by war.. disease.. famin.. etc..this there is a need to breed or eventualy the race would die out.. this the whole chastedy thing is.. illogical..
thirdly.. only eating bread and water.. Malnutrition would sink in. death would result.. if that is all that they eat.. the vindicators would become physicaly weak.. loose muscle mass.. to maintain a physic needed to wield plate armour and heavy wepons.. they would need a high protine diet.. aka meat!!.. as such the dessision of only eating bread and water.. thow would be fine for a one off religious event lasting a week would result in dire concequences in the long run
i dont want you to take this badly but.. from all i have learnt from draenei ro.. this is heading into a very zelous rout.. someting the draenei as a race would be very cairfull not to go down.. as they as a race know the perils of what extreems bring.. they will have seen the end results of chaptarians.. scarlots and the like..
thow this is indeed a fresh intake on the naaru as a viewpoint.. I worry that this could do damage to most peoples opinions on draenei,
thow its true draenei are tough.. they are also a caring gentle race.. something that is being lost in the doctrins here for a very hardernd miletery/religious zeelos thing.. *points back to parrograph one about a fact bieng a fact and as faith requires beleave.*
I hope you understand my concerns (i do not mean to drop a doo doo in here Im mearly curious yet worried on the verge of caution)
firstly naaru are there.. they are a fact.. they exist.. thus it is not beleave and faith of draenei that worship them but is a knowing proof of the lights existance,, faith requires beleaf.. you cannot beleave in a fact as a fact is fact.. absolubt truth.. it is there therefore it is there.. sort to say.. as such I am very supprised that you are guiding the guild into the direction of zellous religiousness.. it.. makes me concernd..
secondly it is mentiond about chastedy.. normaly such a thing and religion is true..
however in the case of draenei.. they have sufferd genocide on no less than two occasions.. as such one would emagin there numbers are slim.. dangeiourously slim.. I would have thaught that as a race they would promote mating.. rearing large families.. bolstering numbers.. as even thow draenei are tecnicaly imortal.. they do sucome to death by war.. disease.. famin.. etc..this there is a need to breed or eventualy the race would die out.. this the whole chastedy thing is.. illogical..
thirdly.. only eating bread and water.. Malnutrition would sink in. death would result.. if that is all that they eat.. the vindicators would become physicaly weak.. loose muscle mass.. to maintain a physic needed to wield plate armour and heavy wepons.. they would need a high protine diet.. aka meat!!.. as such the dessision of only eating bread and water.. thow would be fine for a one off religious event lasting a week would result in dire concequences in the long run
i dont want you to take this badly but.. from all i have learnt from draenei ro.. this is heading into a very zelous rout.. someting the draenei as a race would be very cairfull not to go down.. as they as a race know the perils of what extreems bring.. they will have seen the end results of chaptarians.. scarlots and the like..
thow this is indeed a fresh intake on the naaru as a viewpoint.. I worry that this could do damage to most peoples opinions on draenei,
thow its true draenei are tough.. they are also a caring gentle race.. something that is being lost in the doctrins here for a very hardernd miletery/religious zeelos thing.. *points back to parrograph one about a fact bieng a fact and as faith requires beleave.*
I hope you understand my concerns (i do not mean to drop a doo doo in here Im mearly curious yet worried on the verge of caution)
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Guest Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:21 am
i do vouch for monrena concerns. draenei are very different from humans in which they have learned the dangers of the ego. much like the arrogance of the eredar led them to become demons, and much like it was witnessed the scarlets turned the light into something to fear rather than love. faithful dreanei are generally humble and accepting.
Also, i do not understand why ban shamanism. LOTS of draenei sees the elements as the embodment of the LIGHT will and velen himself accepts the art and allow it to be teached and practiced within the exodar itself, right next to a naaru.
also much like monrena said, draenei are a dying race, that alone influence the culture into a direction in which reationships are endorsed.
i also remember huruma endorsing relationships as something pure, as to love another is to love the light. now the naaruvada cant love each others? i understand you try to avoid ERP drama but from an IC perspective it's contradictory.
do note i am merely trying to offer criticism and raise some concern about things that may hinder RP rather than promote it. huruma's strict code will exclude many people from an already hard to find player base.
Also, i do not understand why ban shamanism. LOTS of draenei sees the elements as the embodment of the LIGHT will and velen himself accepts the art and allow it to be teached and practiced within the exodar itself, right next to a naaru.
also much like monrena said, draenei are a dying race, that alone influence the culture into a direction in which reationships are endorsed.
i also remember huruma endorsing relationships as something pure, as to love another is to love the light. now the naaruvada cant love each others? i understand you try to avoid ERP drama but from an IC perspective it's contradictory.
do note i am merely trying to offer criticism and raise some concern about things that may hinder RP rather than promote it. huruma's strict code will exclude many people from an already hard to find player base.
Guest- Guest
Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Ixirar Tue Nov 26, 2013 7:34 am
Being that Draenei are truly immortal, they definitely wouldn't have the same need to reproduce as humans, and as such a small core of super-religious zealots vowing celibacy isn't a huge issue, in terms of population.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Bakar Tue Nov 26, 2013 7:59 am
But that's the point. Draenei are such an incredibly small population that something such as this would seem weird and perhaps even frowned upon? As said, they may be immortal, but they still die to a sword or disease just as easily as the other guy and they have been the target of mass genocide. So their population numbers would be at a critical number. At least that's what I think.Ixirar/Kavalis wrote:Being that Draenei are truly immortal, they definitely wouldn't have the same need to reproduce as humans, and as such a small core of super-religious zealots vowing celibacy isn't a huge issue, in terms of population.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Ixirar Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:12 am
Immortality makes you immune to diseases in the Warcraft world.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:13 am
Quoting myself from the introduction post:
If the beliefs of this guild is something your draenei characters would frown upon: good! Bring on the frowning. It is not my goal to make a guild or a doctrine that represents the general mainstream draenei view. It is precisely my goal to create a cult of ultra-ascetic conservative nutjobs and judging from the prelminary reactions, I seem to have succeeded.
I agree with all of your points and have advocated them before. But for the purposes of this guild they are ultimately moot, because it is not our purpose as a guild to accurately represent the mainstream draenei point of view. If this leads us into conflict with draenei characters, this is something I would strongly encourage and be very excited about! Conflict is good. We are not here to bring harmony to the draenei community and unite them under one banner. Hell, we're not even here to be a draenei guild. If anything, we're here do do the opposite: sow discord and increase the breadth and reach of what a draenei character can be: includung the classic Knight Templar, the-end-justifies-the-means well-intentioned extremist characters that border on - and frequently cross - the edge of villainy.
I hope this clears up some questions and concerns you had!
This is not a draenei guild. This is a religious cult that happened to have been founded by draenei: but we are ultimately hoping to include other races a well.What we are not is a draenei guild. While it is natural for the Naaruvada to primarily attract draenei characters – since the draenei are naturally attuned to the Naaru – all races who are willing to learn about the Light and live according to the Naaru's teachings are welcome to join.
If the beliefs of this guild is something your draenei characters would frown upon: good! Bring on the frowning. It is not my goal to make a guild or a doctrine that represents the general mainstream draenei view. It is precisely my goal to create a cult of ultra-ascetic conservative nutjobs and judging from the prelminary reactions, I seem to have succeeded.
I agree with all of your points and have advocated them before. But for the purposes of this guild they are ultimately moot, because it is not our purpose as a guild to accurately represent the mainstream draenei point of view. If this leads us into conflict with draenei characters, this is something I would strongly encourage and be very excited about! Conflict is good. We are not here to bring harmony to the draenei community and unite them under one banner. Hell, we're not even here to be a draenei guild. If anything, we're here do do the opposite: sow discord and increase the breadth and reach of what a draenei character can be: includung the classic Knight Templar, the-end-justifies-the-means well-intentioned extremist characters that border on - and frequently cross - the edge of villainy.
I hope this clears up some questions and concerns you had!
Last edited by Thelos on Tue Nov 26, 2013 12:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Bakar Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:17 am
Well then I don't believe that Draenei are truly immortal, because there are several cases of Draenei being sick and dying from it. Think Shattrath and its lower area, it's even described as a filthy place. And I do believe there is a quest or two where you have to gather things to cure a disease for a Draenei, unsure. Lemme check.Ixirar/Kavalis wrote:Immortality makes you immune to diseases in the Warcraft world.
Edit: Looked far and wide for what I could. But there is no mention of Draenei being more or less susceptible to diseases. So I guess that's totally up for grabs.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:25 am
Maybe it will help if I address Nihilia's points one bye one.
All I can say about the last point is: tough. We're not here to cater to all players. From my experience making guilds in the past, I have arrived at the point where I no longer wish to make compromises on my guild concepts and wish to concentrate on creating the best possible quality of role-play I can create. I'm trough making compromises to include as many kinds of players and characters as possible. I'm done with the overly-vanilla guild concepts that ultimately don't have any meat in them because they are trying to provide for all. Again, I will repeat this as many times as I have to, because it bears repeating: we are not a draenei guild. The purpose of this guild is not to become "The Draenei Guild" (tm) like Ere Argus was, or like how Natures Grasp was for Elves or the Three Hammers for Dwarves. This concept is much more specific and yes, excludes many characters by design.
I hope this helps awnsers some questions and concerns you all had!
Generally they are, yes. Draenei that decide to convert to the Naaruvada are the exception.Nihilia wrote:i do vouch for monrena concerns. draenei are very different from humans in which they have learned the dangers of the ego. much like the arrogance of the eredar led them to become demons, and much like it was witnessed the scarlets turned the light into something to fear rather than love. faithful dreanei are generally humble and accepting.
Many draenei do accept shamanism; the Naaruvada don't. If you will continue on reading, you will find that any Lay Profession is banned for proper disciples, including such things as farming, blacksmithing or hell, acting. If Shamanism is to be understood as a religious occuptation, it would be banned because the Naaruvada does not allow its disciples to practise any other religions; if it were a Lay Profession, it would be banned because its members are not allowed to keep practising their former Lay professions (like blacksmithing).Nihilia wrote:i
Also, i do not understand why ban shamanism. LOTS of draenei sees the elements as the embodment of the LIGHT will and velen himself accepts the art and allow it to be teached and practiced within the exodar itself, right next to a naaru.
Perhaps it has; and if you think it should, I encourage you to use this in your role-play! The Naaruvada however would see this as a very bad thing indeed and would try to reverse this development.Nihilia wrote:i
also much like monrena said, draenei are a dying race, that alone influence the culture into a direction in which reationships are endorsed.
Huruma changed his mind. If it helps, you can assume he went nuts, since he keeps talking about his "Mission from the Light," and other cooky things like that. Again, I don't pretend like this guild concept and its progenitors are anything but zealous. It's quite nutty, in fact; and I wouldn't be suprised if there were some inherent contradictions, too.Nihilia wrote:i
i also remember huruma endorsing relationships as something pure, as to love another is to love the light. now the naaruvada cant love each others? i understand you try to avoid ERP drama but from an IC perspective it's contradictory.
Thank you for your critisism! Feedback is always welcome and you raised some points I was eager - yet ultimate unable, it seems - to address in my first recruitment post. Thank you for raising and asking them!Nihilia wrote:i
do note i am merely trying to offer criticism and raise some concern about things that may hinder RP rather than promote it. huruma's strict code will exclude many people from an already hard to find player base.
All I can say about the last point is: tough. We're not here to cater to all players. From my experience making guilds in the past, I have arrived at the point where I no longer wish to make compromises on my guild concepts and wish to concentrate on creating the best possible quality of role-play I can create. I'm trough making compromises to include as many kinds of players and characters as possible. I'm done with the overly-vanilla guild concepts that ultimately don't have any meat in them because they are trying to provide for all. Again, I will repeat this as many times as I have to, because it bears repeating: we are not a draenei guild. The purpose of this guild is not to become "The Draenei Guild" (tm) like Ere Argus was, or like how Natures Grasp was for Elves or the Three Hammers for Dwarves. This concept is much more specific and yes, excludes many characters by design.
I hope this helps awnsers some questions and concerns you all had!
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Thelos Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:43 am
And now, on Monrena's points:
Also, keep in mind that the ones to actual take vows of Celibacy are a very small and elite group. Think of them as Monks. Did the fact that many Western European societies had or still have monks have such a big impact on the ammount of breeding? No, not really. The celibate monks are a tiny minority of the populace and I suspect it will be no different for us. Who wants to be celibate, anyway?
Ultimately the idea - from a sociological, society-planning point of view - is that you need a certain amount of enlightened priests in your society to guide the rest. They're sacrificing all those good and enjoyable things like sex and food so that the rest may benefit from the spiritual insights this abstinence bestows upon them. Whether this abstinance actually bestows anything is of course a matter of Faith, not of science.
Religion can take on many forms and has many faces. Not all those faces are nice. I indeed want to steer the guild in a zealous, religious dimension; and your concern in this case is encouragement for me! If your character strongly disagrees with the Naaruvada's views - try to stop us from gaining influence and stand against us! I encourage that kind of conflict.Monrena wrote:
firstly naaru are there.. they are a fact.. they exist.. thus it is not beleave and faith of draenei that worship them but is a knowing proof of the lights existance,, faith requires beleaf.. you cannot beleave in a fact as a fact is fact.. absolubt truth.. it is there therefore it is there.. sort to say.. as such I am very supprised that you are guiding the guild into the direction of zellous religiousness.. it.. makes me concernd..
You're right: from a purely rational, sociological, scientific demographical point of view, you are absolutely right. Persuming the survival of the race is a top priority, you'd think breeding would be, too. However, the Naaruvada does not think purely rational, sociological, scientificly demographical. They are conservatives trough and trough: something as inconsequential as a genocide and a dramatic decline in population will not influence the core tenents of their faith, which are unchangeable and constant.Monrena wrote:
however in the case of draenei.. they have sufferd genocide on no less than two occasions.. as such one would emagin there numbers are slim.. dangeiourously slim.. I would have thaught that as a race they would promote mating.. rearing large families.. bolstering numbers.. as even thow draenei are tecnicaly imortal.. they do sucome to death by war.. disease.. famin.. etc..this there is a need to breed or eventualy the race would die out.. this the whole chastedy thing is.. illogical..
Also, keep in mind that the ones to actual take vows of Celibacy are a very small and elite group. Think of them as Monks. Did the fact that many Western European societies had or still have monks have such a big impact on the ammount of breeding? No, not really. The celibate monks are a tiny minority of the populace and I suspect it will be no different for us. Who wants to be celibate, anyway?
Ultimately the idea - from a sociological, society-planning point of view - is that you need a certain amount of enlightened priests in your society to guide the rest. They're sacrificing all those good and enjoyable things like sex and food so that the rest may benefit from the spiritual insights this abstinence bestows upon them. Whether this abstinance actually bestows anything is of course a matter of Faith, not of science.
Exceptions will be made for the Vindicator caste - perhaps I forgot to mention that, in which case: thanks for reminding me! As for the Anchorites...Yep, they'll be very poorly nourished indeed, with some very dire consequences. This sort of religious diet is murder on your body; yet, it is suppoed to grant you freedom from desire in return, something most if not all religions associate with spiritual insight: in the case of the Naaruvada, this is actually a canon fact. Freedom from desire brings you closer to the Light, according to the Naaruvada.Monrena wrote:
thirdly.. only eating bread and water.. Malnutrition would sink in. death would result.. if that is all that they eat.. the vindicators would become physicaly weak.. loose muscle mass.. to maintain a physic needed to wield plate armour and heavy wepons.. they would need a high protine diet.. aka meat!!.. as such the dessision of only eating bread and water.. thow would be fine for a one off religious event lasting a week would result in dire concequences in the long run
Well then, represent the Draenei race that is careful to keep their peers from going down the path! Try and stop us!Monrena wrote:
i dont want you to take this badly but.. from all i have learnt from draenei ro.. this is heading into a very zelous rout.. someting the draenei as a race would be very cairfull not to go down.. as they as a race know the perils of what extreems bring.. they will have seen the end results of chaptarians.. scarlots and the like..
Intentional. I want people to think more badly about the Draenei. If anything, the standard draenei is boring and there's much space for them to grow into more interesting creatures. A greater moral reach - from zealous, bordering-on-evil paternalism to understanding, sympathy and tolerance - is something I encourage.Monrena wrote:
thow this is indeed a fresh intake on the naaru as a viewpoint.. I worry that this could do damage to most peoples opinions on draenei,
Then let us represent the tough ones and you can represent the gentle ones.Monrena wrote:
thow its true draenei are tough.. they are also a caring gentle race.. something that is being lost in the doctrins here for a very hardernd miletery/religious zeelos thing.. *points back to parrograph one about a fact bieng a fact and as faith requires beleave.*
I understand your concenrs, Monerna: but paradoxially, they confirm me in my beliefs that this is the right direction to take the guild in. I encourage conflict and I'd like to think the Naaruvada's controversial beliefs and their hyper-evengelical activities will lead to plenty of conflict for everyone to enjoy!Monrena wrote:
I hope you understand my concerns (i do not mean to drop a doo doo in here Im mearly curious yet worried on the verge of caution)
Last edited by Thelos on Tue Nov 26, 2013 12:28 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Seranita Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:45 am
it answers my questions certainly 
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by Ixirar Tue Nov 26, 2013 8:51 am
That said, I'll be racechanging either my priest or my paladin for this.
I absolutely love this concept.
I absolutely love this concept.
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Re: Naaruvada 2.0: The Reboot.
by erwtenpeller Tue Nov 26, 2013 11:37 am
Some in the Naaruvada still cling to the old values of Thelos the Illuminator. 
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